The Mask of Majora
by JediAnn Solo
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Finding himself on a rather interesting sidequest, Link's desire to help others kicks in when searching for his dear horse, Epona. Rated for violence and mild language.
1. No Matter What it Takes

**The Mask of Majora - Prologue: No Matter What it Takes**

* * *

I remember... 

Yep, I still do...

It's almost a bit funny that most of the memories I keep are the ones in my future instead of my past. Defeating Ganon, obtaining my faithful horse, racing through catacombs, and even falling in love. And I'm glad for those things. Thanks to that, I've been feeling much more confident about myself... heh, I even had the guts to ask Malon if I could keep Epona.

But I still remember...

Probably the most unforgettable memory that I held onto... and it's in the past; not the future. That moment was Navi's parting. Since that day, I haven't been eating right. I just-- I just don't feel very hungry. And I can't sleep, either. I'm afraid of... my nightmares.

The monsters... they come after me.

You may think that sounds silly coming from me-- the Hero of Time. But ever since Navi left, there's been like... a void that I can't fill. She may have been annoying and impatient with me sometimes, but I wasn't so afraid of the monsters when I had Navi beside me. I could always count on her to guide me and encourage me and all. I'm sure she knew that too.

But if she _did_ know... why did she leave? I... I never understood it!

She was my fairy... my best friend...

It made no sense.

I stood up from my bed and kicked at its oak leg angrily without thinking. I kicked it harder, trying to block the thoughts of Navi out of my mind. They've been tormenting me for too long. I'd do anything to make them stop! With a short yell, I kicked at the small table leg, accidentally breaking it and all my milk bottles on top of it fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Then I couldn't take it anymore. Something inside of me must have snapped, because I suddenly started to shake until my knees caved in, I fell... and I cried. I cried what I hadn't cried for the last few weeks. I had kept my silence for way too long. I wailed loudly, not caring about whoever it could wake up at this time of the night.

I was angry. Angry at the Deku Tree for sending me Navi, out of all fairies. Angry at Navi for leaving me. Angry at myself for whatever reason that made her leave me.

With my eyes shut, I slammed my fist to the floor and cut myself deeply with a big, jagged piece of the broken milk bottle. I stared in horror at my hand and wrist and clutched my arm. The glass was still stuck in the wound and warm blood started trickling down my arm like a stream. Outside, my horse Epona whined when hearing my screams.

I have seen blood before. I've bled many times. But this wasn't caused by some monster or animal or evil minion... I had done it to myself. Now I had no potion to heal it with and I was afraid to pull it out so I just stared at it with fear.

Until I heard footsteps on the wooden floor outside.

I lifted my head from the floor high enough to see Saria and Mido entering my treehouse. When seeing the situation, Saria gasped in shock and covered her mouth with her cupped hands while Mido just stared from the mess on the ground tot he wound on the side of my palm and wrist.

"What the heck are you doing to yourself!" Mido suddenly blurted out.

I stared at him, my mouth hung open as I tried to speak, but no words would come out. My gaze went from Saria to Mido. I knew what they were thinking. Saria's eyes welled up with tears, but she was still shocked.

"I... it-- it's not what you think! It was an accident!" I said.

Mido folded his arms across his chest. "Well, it certainly doesn't look like one, does it?" he said with that trademark bitter look of his.

Caving in, Saria shut her eyes tightly and let out a soft sob, obviously trying to stop the urge to cry. She walked over the bits of glass, careful not to step on any of them and hunkered down next to me, her eyes still teary. "L-Link... what's going on?" she whispered to me.

I really didn't know how to answer to that... so I just didn't. I looked down at the ground instead. They wouldn't understand. They never lost their fairies and they never will. They'll never feel the pain that I'm going through... never. 'Never'. How I hate that word. And the worst part is that I can associate that word with anything and everything that's going on in my life right now.

"C-Can you help me get this out?" I asked, looking down at the shard of glass in my arm. Saria looked over at Mido, who had his arms crossed and was stomping his foot angrily for some reason. He rolled his eyes and said something under his breath I couldn't understand.

"Fine, fine..." he finally said.

Both he and Saria rushed out and later came back with a medicine made out of our forest toadstools to pour on my open cut. It stung a lot. But after leaving it for a minute or two, my arm went a little numb and I easily pulled the glass out without too much trouble. Mido and Saria both helped me clean up the mess.

"Thanks," I muttered when we were done.

"Yeah, whatever," Mido said sleepily and he left. I guess deep down that jerk will never change.

Saria stayed behind and sat on my bed. She still looked a little shaken up. "Link, you have to get some sleep," she insisted. "I don't want you getting hurt."

She just didn't get it.

I stared at her coldly and turned my back, walking out of my treehouse. This was the last straw. I couldn't stand around any longer. If Navi is what I need to fill my empty void, nothing else was going to be able toreplace it. I climbed down the ladder carefully and slowly untied Epona from a low branch on my tree. She snorted gently as I patted her head and I smiled weakly.

"Come on, girl... we're going on another little adventure."

I mounted her and kicked her side softly so she would start galloping gradually. Saria ran out of my house, dropped down the ladder and chased after me.

"Wait!" she cried out. "Where are you going?"

Epona stopped when she noticed I wasn't holding on to her reins. I turned my head towards Saria. She looked scared and unsure. But despite it all, I glanced back at her with a determined look. She'd know what it means. I kicked at Epona's side and got her to run off into the Lost Woods before Saria could even open her mouth to say something else. At first I felt bad for leaving her like that, but I couldn't let anyone get the chance to stop me... not even my friends.

After going through the Sacred Forest Meadow, I spotted a low wall not too far from the edge of the paddock. "Hyah!" I kicked twice and she galloped faster, heading straight towards the wall and she jumped it. Smiling proudly, I patted her neck. "Good girl," I implied. I mounted off her and held onto her rope, instructing her to walk.

I looked back briefly... but I pushed aside all my regrets and kept on walking. This is one mission I had to go through on my own. Navi is my fairy... and I will find her even if it's the last thing I ever do.


	2. Through the Eyes of the Deku

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 1: Through the Eyes of the Deku  
**  
The search continued to go for days as the green-garbed hylian boy cried out his fairy's name in vain. He felt as if he's been out in the woods for months. But still, he stopped only to sleep and nothing more. His call echoed in this unknown point of the woods. Growing weary, he climbed back up on his steed's back tiredly. His cerulean eyes darted from left to right, noticing the fog building up around him. Dawn was drawing closer.  
  
He didn't even know which way he was going anymore. Link just directed Epona straight, not counting much about finding anything different in this forest. He wasn't even sure if he was walking around in circles. They didn't call these the Lost Woods for nothing.  
  
Link jerked his head up when he thought he heard someone rustling past some bushes. But it turned out to be a sudden little gust of wind. He hadn't thought this personal journey from end to end very well. His magical item bag was completely empty, for he had left almost all of his weapons in his treehouse. ((A/N: Yes, it's a magical item bag. How else do you think all that stuff fits in his tiny bag?)) Link was only equipped with his sword, shield and courage. He didn't believe Navi could be in these parts of the woods, but she was not in the Deku Tree's haven anymore. And Link had to start somewhere...  
  
He inhaled and yelled out into the woods. "Navi!!" He sat in silence for a moment, praying to the Goddesses that his call may be answered.  
  
His cries got the attention of two creatures hidden behind a nearby tree. One of them was a curious dark indigo fairy along with another fairy which shined with a yellowish-white glow. They both gazed at the young boy and his horse from not too far away. Looking at each other, they shared a muted giggle and a knowing nod. Suddenly, they both darted out of their hiding place and soared towards Epona, spooking the poor colt. She whined and reared back, causing Link to lose his balance and fall to the ground with a surprised cry.  
  
His half-opened eyes beheld a slightly familiar sight. Hovering above his head was a bright light -its body almost not distinguishable- with silver wings. Link winced as he muttered uncertainly, "Na...N-Navi...?" He drifted off into unconsciousness.  
  
Both fairies grinned with glee and rushed towards a child-like creature watching the scene from behind. The creature's most patent aspect was the strange, colorful mask he was wearing. The mask... it had some kind of wicked aura. Even Link seemed to slightly flinch at its presence though he was still unconscious.  
  
The creature giggled and lifted his mask faintly to look at his fairy companions. "You two fairies did great!" he said with a leer. "I wonder if he has anything good on him..." Putting the mask back on, he approached the fallen hero with caution. 'Huh? This guy...' he thought, looking down at the boy. 'He seems... familiar...oh, well. No matter.'  
  
Rummaging in Link's item bag -which was tied to his belt- the creature frowned at the lack of contents. But out he pulled a cobalt ocarina with beautiful golden details that held together the mouthpiece. The creature giggled as he tried to hold the ocarina right and play it. The little indigo fairy came up behind the creature and gasped excitedly when seeing the royal instrument in his hands.  
  
"Ooh, ooh! What a pretty ocarina!" the fairy exclaimed. "Hey, Skullkid, lemme touch it! I wanna see!"  
  
He reached down to it, but the other fairy, his sister, nudged him aside. "You can't, Tael!" she scolded at her brother. "What would we do if you dropped it and broke it? Nuh-uh, no way! You can't touch it!!"  
  
Tael was crestfallen. "...Aw, but sis--"  
  
He stopped speaking when hearing a shuffle behind him. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the young boy they had assaulted... and he was standing up! Tael shook fearfully, too nervous to speak out and warn the Skull Kid and his sister about him. Skullkid was blowing at the ocarina's mouthpiece, grinning at his acquired prize and completely oblivious at the fact that Link was now staring at him. Link curled up his fists, realizing he had just been robbed. The seething noise he made got the Skull Kid's attention. Skullkid gasped and attempted to hide the ocarina. But noticing the enraged look on the child, it was no use.  
  
Being very sure of his timing, Link jumped at the Skull Kid, trying to pin him and take back his ocarina. However the Skull Kid was sure of his timing as well. He jumped over the boy hero and mounted Epona, emitting a gasp from Link. The two fairies chased after the Skull Kid, who had gotten Epona to gallop away.  
  
"No!!!" Link gave chase, not having any other choice. His ocarina was gone and he could no longer summon his horse back via Epona's song. When he was close enough, he did a long jump, hoping to land on his horse. Instead, he managed to grab the Skull Kid's leg with his left hand and hold on to Epona's back with his right. But Skullkid did not slow down.  
  
Link continued to be dragged, every now and then scraping against a tree or rock and mildly wounding his legs. "Epona! Stop!! It's okay, girl-- it's me!!!" he cried out over the loud, echoing gallops. He tried to gain her trust before it was too late. It was as if she was under some sort of trance. Alas, Skullkid became annoyed by this and kicked at the boy's face. Link jerked his head back, accidentally letting go and he tumbled off the path. For a vague moment, the girl fairy hesitantly looked back at him, but then followed after Skullkid again.  
  
"Epona..."  
  
The boy hero shakily stood back up, not willing to lose his precious colt because of a mere imp. He followed the only path nearby, which lead to a dark part of the woods. Scared was the last thing he was feeling at the moment. He unsheathed his sword and with the same determined look he had earlier, he ran into the path until it was too dark to see even his own hands if he would have waved them in front of his face.  
  
The echo of his footsteps was beginning to bounce back at him, like if they resounded off a cliff wall. Cliff wall? Link stopped running, but a bit too late. He fell forward, expecting to fall on his knees, yet he continued to fall down what should be a canyon opening. Air rushed through his ears as he fell farther and faster.  
  
This was the end...  
  
There's no way he could survive such large fall. He shut his eyes, waiting for the end. His ears were alert to find a celestial voice to take him away to eternal rest.  
  
But instead of a celestial voice, there was a small thud.  
  
Link landed on his back on top of what felt like a soft, padded pillow. He peered down to see he had landed on a giant, dull-colored flower. At least it was dull-colored due to the lack of light. Not that the problem lasted long, since when Link stood up, a ray of light shone from across the cove he was in, its source unknown. Under the warm lights hovered the masked Skull Kid, his two fairies beside him. "Persistent, aren't we...?" Link muttered between clenched teeth. Epona was nowhere in sight and this alarmed Link.  
  
"Where's Epona?!" he demanded to know, clutching the hilt of his sword even tighter.  
  
"What? That stupid horse of yours?" the Skull Kid chortled. "It doesn't even listen to a word that's said to it..."  
  
"Maybe not your word!"  
  
The Skull Kid ignored him and continued. "There's no point in riding a thing like that, so I did you a favor and got rid of it..." he finished with a smirk and a chuckle.  
  
Link gasped and clutched at his tunic feeling very short on breath. No... that horse... she was too important to him. He had made a promise to Malon that he'll take care of Epona and protect her with his life... even when such promise was not necessary. And now... she was gone...? At the hands of a Skull Kid...? Link held back his sobs as Skullkid watched him with a leer as if he were watching a comedy.  
  
"Aww, boo-hoo. Why the sad face?" he teased. "I just thought I'd have a little fun with you..."  
  
"...that's it!!" Link suddenly exclaimed, showing just how angry he really was. "If you really want me to suffer to demise, then do it the right way!! Go ahead, gimme your best shot!" Link was surprised by his own words, but showed no signs of backing down. The Skullkid chuckled again, but this wasn't the childish, hearty chuckle Link had heard before... It was more... demonic. Even the two fairies that accompanied him looked stunned.  
  
"Oh, come on," the Skull Kid said with an irregular tone, like if it wasn't his own. "Do you really think you could beat me now as I am? Fool..."  
  
An odd sound lingered in the small cove. The sound of a foreign hex being performed. Link gaped at the Skullkid in disbelief and he lowered his sword and shield. Since when do Skull Kids cast hexes...? But what Link should have been worried about was that the actual curse was directed to him. The colors of the mask faded as the hex continued... that mask was definitely not ordinary...  
  
The same darkness that enveloped the mask shrouded Link.  
  
_All was silent.  
  
Link suddenly heard sounds. Rustling.  
  
A mad scrub ran through the darkness in front of him. Other scrubs followed  
it.  
  
They were headed to Link's direction. Confused, Link took a step back only  
to bump into another scrub. At the blink of an eye, he was surrounded.  
  
His sword was gone. All he could do was run. And he did.  
  
Breathing hard, he tried to get away from the mad scrubs.  
  
The darkness got worse if that's even possible.  
  
Hard to see.  
  
One foot in front of the other.  
  
A crack on the ground. He fell and scraped his elbow.  
  
But he got up again.  
  
The rustling of the scrubs grew closer...and closer...  
  
...and closer.....  
  
Then a giant Deku Scrub popped out of the ground and lunged at the boy.  
  
Link skidded to a halt in shock when seeing the giant scrub grow large  
tentacles made out of vines.  
  
The vines ensnared him and squeezed at his torso and neck.  
  
He tried to breathe. He couldn't.  
  
His body ached terribly as the vines began to run under his skin. He tried to scream for help. He felt darkness consume him all over...  
_  
...Until it all became clear again.  
  
He was on top of the soft, pink flower in the small cove... right where he had been left before. Thinking the hex's purpose was to frighten him away from battle, Link shook his head and once again reached for his sword. But what he grabbed instead was air. Looking at the rivulet in between him and the Skullkid, he saw a scrub looking right at him and he jumped in surprise. He put his hands up to his cheekbones and gasped when the scrub did the same. The scrub... was his reflection.  
  
"Hee, hee ha-ha-ha!" the imp laughed, his normal voice back. "Now, that's a good look for you!" Link looked back at Skullkid incredulously. "You'll stay here looking that way forever!" The wall behind him opened up like a door and the masked Skull Kid disappeared behind it.  
  
Link's jaw would have been hanging open if he had one at the moment. He chased after him and shouted in his new, different voice. "Wuh-wait!! What are you--?!" He was interrupted by the girl fairy, who repeatedly hit his head with callous force. It didn't hurt Link, but the constant hitting fazed him out. She was so enwrapped on this and didn't see the door closing.  
  
"S-s-sis!!" Tael cried out to her just before the stone door slammed shut between them.  
  
Link held his forehead and let out a pained exhale and through his deku snout out popped a bubble. As it floated in front of him, he gaped at it in shock. The girl fairy turned and her eyes went wide when all she could see was a lifeless, stone wall in the place where her brother used to be.  
  
"Whoa! Whoa, Skullkid, wait for me! I'm still here!!" she shouted, zooming towards the door. She banged her small body against the door, foolishly expecting it to open. "Tael, you can't leave without me!" She stopped throwing herself at the stone door and looked down with disappointment. She was alone with what she felt like was her enemy. And then she remembered. She turned to Link and seethed. "You!! If I wasn't dealing with you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother!"  
  
Link just glared at her angrily, but it was really hard to notice his anger behind those sad, lost Deku scrub eyes of his. If she thought she was going to get away by pinning this on him, she was dead wrong. "I can't believe I had ever even thought you were my friend Navi..." he seethed, his statement inaudible for the fairy girl to hear.  
  
"Well, don't just sit there, Deku boy! Do something!!" the fairy said. Link narrowed his eyes in annoyance and exhaled again out of spite. "Why don't you stop staring and--?!?" Her voice was cut off when entrapped in another deku bubble of Link's. The boy kept a smirk to himself as he folded his arms across his chest.  
  
"Lemme out! Lemme OUT!!" she screamed at the deku boy, yet he just kept his stance. Defeated, she sighed and tried again. "Please!! C'mon, a helpless, little girl is asking you..." she begged, this time she didn't sound like too much of a tyrant. She looked solemnly towards where Tael and the Skull Kid had disappeared. "Ohh, Tael... I wonder if that child will be alright on his own?" she added barely above a whisper.  
  
Link rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration. "I'm going to open the door," he said half-heartedly. "It's not like I'm doing it for you, anyway. There's no other way to go." And this was true. That stone door was the only way out of the cove except for the tunnel that leads back to the Lost Woods. And that tunnel was probably more than fifty-five kilometers high above his head now. Link pushed the door open and waddled down a long walkway, lightly holding onto the deku bubble. He burst the strangely hard- to-pop bubble open and the fairy girl came flying out.  
  
"Unnh! Do you ever do that again to me!!" she bellowed angrily. For a fairy, she sure had a strong voice... like if she was a guardian fairy like Navi used to be.  
  
Being reminded yet again about his companion in this situation got him fed up. Link turned to her harshly, hiding the remote sorrow. "Okay, we're across. And who's to say I'll ever to it again? Go away and find your anteloping brother or whatever! You don't need to hang around with a Deku boy like me, right?" he said crossly.  
  
"Oh, well... that stuff I said back there... I, um... apologize," she said meekly. "I just had to blow off some steam. So-- so take me with you!" she ordered out of the blue.  
  
"What?! No!!" he shook his rotund head. "I'm gonna go find my ocarina and go back home! Not guide a search party for some fairy I don't even care about!"  
  
The fairy sighed. "Look, you wanna know about that Skull Kid who just ran off, right?" There was a pause before Link nodded. "Well, I just so happen to have an idea of where he might be going. Take me with you and I'll help you out. Deal?" Link lifted his head to her and before he could speak, the fairy dipped her wings and flew over his head.  
  
"Good! So then it's settled!" she decided. Link didn't bother to say 'no'. He was sure such an answer would not be accepted now. The fairy sighed in self-relief and continued. "Now then, I'll be your partner... or at least until we catch that Skull Kid. My name's Tatl. So, uh, it's nice to meet you or whatever."  
  
"...right. N-Nice to meet you," Link said unenthusiastically. "I'm Link." He thought he heard Tatl stifling a laugh when he said that. Link continued through the walkways, constantly giving Tatl sideway glances. Every once in awhile he would smile, all of a sudden comparing the first time he met Navi with this meeting. This was the same impression he had gotten from Navi when she scolded at him when she flew in through his window, but over time he had warmed up to her.  
  
Tatl did a double-take when noting Link's smile. His mouth was not perceptible, but there was a glint in his eyes that showed a hidden bliss. "What are you smiling about?" she said with a scoff. Link's glint suddenly faded away.  
  
"Erm, nothing... it's just that... you remind me of somebody," he said  
  
"Who?" she asked. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. There's a short silence as Link looks down sadly and stops walking. "Oh, c'mon! It can't be that depressing! I want to know!"  
  
The boy glanced to the side quickly and drew a deep breath. "The reason I was out there all alone in the forest is because I was looking for my friend Navi..." he admitted. "She's a fairy just like you. She sometimes wasn't careful with what she said, but she was mostly very sweet and helpful... and... I-- I just haven't seen her in awhile." He kept on walking, knowing that dawn was soon to come. Tatl stayed there for a moment, letting this flow through her mind.  
  
"Oh, wow..." she whispered to herself. "How sad..."  
  
They kept going in silence until they reached the end of the walkway. Link and Tatl peered down at the bottomless ditch standing between them and the next door. Tatl smirked and dipped her wings once more to glide to Link's left.  
  
"I suppose you can't jump very far in your scrub body, huh?" she asked. She pointed down at a large, pink flower; similar to the one Link was standing on top of earlier. "Use that deku bud to glide to the other side. Just dive into it."  
  
Hesitating at first, Link did so. And when he emerged, he automatically bounced out of the bud like a trampoline. Two deku flowers appeared at his grasp and with them he parachuted down to the other side of the ditch. When landing in front of the next opening, he smiled. Link had never flown like that before. He had to admit... that was pretty cool. Tatl simply flew right over and joined him. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she said. Link shook his head and faced the entrance before him.  
  
"Good Gods, I just hope this is the last time I have to go through an opening for tonight," he muttered. He stated to walk over to the next door but Tatl fluttered right in front of his face, startling the temporal deku boy.  
  
"Hey, pay attention!" she scolded. "Look over here!" She led Link to a small bush-like tree he had overseen. "It's weird, but the way you look right now sort of looks like this tree..." Tatl said. And it was true. The tree had a face just like a little deku. Yet... it was so... ominous. "It looks so dark and gloomy..."  
  
"Like if it could start crying any second now," Link finished.  
  
Tatl looked at the boy hero. "Yeah. That's pretty sad..." Three seconds of stillness later, Tatl piped an 'okay, let's get moving', so Link reluctantly walked away from the tree, gazing at it once more. If there's something he has learned from past/future experiences it was to take note even on the littlest things. He nodded and walked off. He had a feeling this sad little tree might help him somehow in the future. "Helloo!!" Tatl yelled at his ear. "Can we get moving today?!"  
  
Link walked through the opening, getting pulled deeper into the darkness by a strange force. He felt like he was jerked away from his own free will as he was being pulled into this different, musty atmosphere. The darkness soon began to recede and what Link thought was the sound of churning water and creaking gears grew closer. It reminded Link of the windmills back in Kakariko village. And then, another strange sound...  
  
Clocks...?  
  
When he felt he could continue to walk on his own, he took a step through another opening... and it felt like he had entered an entirely different world. Link looked around. The place resembled a large, tall storehouse with a windmill and a fount inside of it. It was like no place he's ever seen. The waters looked murky and the place smelled of toadstool. Putting his hand lightly over his snout, he walked up a few steps to another level of this resounding tower. Link started to feel funny... it was a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time. He felt completely lost.  
  
The boy looked over his shoulder at the opening he had just entered from and stared hopelessly as it closed shut, lock and key. He shuddered a sigh. There was truly no turning back... was this all truly worth it...?  
  
'Yes... yes, it is...' he thought. 'I must get that ocarina back... but will I even have a chance in this body...?'  
  
Out of the tower's dark corners, came a voice... A familiar one at that.  
  
"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
**To Be Continued...**


	3. The Salesman of Happiness

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 2: The Salesman of Happiness  
**  
The sudden voice caused Link to jump and turn to its source. It was a man. A man he has met during past travels. He even worked for him once. Link only knew him as the Happy Mask Salesman. Tatl, of course, didn't know this man and she ducked inside Link's hat, ogling the salesman in confusion. The man simply grinned as he always did, no matter how unwelcoming the situation felt. He bowed in greeting, causing the masks he carried in his enormous pack to quaver and clatter.  
  
Link nodded back. "I remember you," he said.  
  
If possible, the salesman's grin widened. "I own the Happy Mask Shop. I have traveled far and wide in search of masks. Surely you have met me long ago when Hyrule Market was just at its peak." Link nodded again and let the man continue. "During my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me. So here I am at loss..." he said, his shoulders slumping just ever-so slightly.  
  
Link stepped forward and walked towards him. _'...an important mask...? Stolen...?'_  
  
"...and now I've found you," the salesman added, clasping his hands together.  
  
Little Tatl, even though not able to gain the man's trust, fluttered out of her hiding place, but still remained behind Link. The current deku child didn't know how to interpret what the man had just told him. "You're saying it like you've been waiting for someone like me," he said jokingly, a bit of confusion riddling his voice.  
  
The salesman looked down at the deku boy, eyebrows raised. "Ah, but I am," he said and Link raised his eyebrows in surprise as well. "Now, don't think me rude, but I have been following you... for I know a way to return you to your former self."  
  
Link could have inhaled the salesman's giant pack with the gasp he emitted. "You can?" he marveled. "How? I'll do anything!"  
  
The Happy Mask Salesman rubbed his clasped hands together zealously, glad to see the child so eager. "If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you," he paused as he looked from the small white fairy to the boy. "...I will return you to normal."  
  
Get his ocarina back, huh? That didn't sound so hard. He had Tatl by his side, so he could find the Skullkid straightforwardly with her help. But then, Link frowned. The salesman has been following him...? He must know him better than that. The man knows Link is capable to do the undreamed of. "There's a catch, isn't there?" Link asked softly.  
  
"Just a small task. In exchange..." the man paused again, getting both Link and Tatl kind of peeved. "All I ask is that you also get back my precious mask that the imp stole from me," he said as if he was implying this was no challenge at all. Link gawked at him like if the man had just grown four heads. How could he do this? He was a defenseless deku! He couldn't just walk over to that Skull Kid and rip the mask off his head. The salesman noted Link's shock. "What? Is it not a simple task?" he questioned in bewilderment. "Why, to someone like you, it should by no means be a difficult task."  
  
The boy hero took in a breath and was about to argue, but he halted himself when seeing how uneasy the man was acting.  
  
"Except for one thing," he said hesitantly. "You see, I'm a very busy fellow... And I must leave this place in three days. I would be very grateful if you could bring it back before my time here is up."  
  
_'Ohh... for Din's sake, I don't believe this!'_ Tatl thought to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.  
  
"But I see you are young and have tremendous courage. And I'm sure you'll find it right away." The Happy Mask Salesman stood as upright as his pack would let him and put his hands on his hips. "Well then, I am counting on you. Run along, now."  
  
At first, Link thought he had lost control of his body. When you say something like 'Saving Hyrule', it doesn't sound like an uber-large deal. Two little words could have fooled anyone into believing there are not many steps into something so big. And Link feared that this was what the salesman speculated. The gears creaking in the background seemed to fade. And without looking back, Link ran up the ramp of this strange, windmill- like tower as fast as his short legs could take him and disappeared behind the exit.  
  
The Happy Mask Salesman looked up to him as he left. "...please, do not forget my precious mask."  
  
When going past the wooden double doors, Link was greeted by the crowing of a rooster and the cool sun rising as noon was nearing. The sounds of chattering people and construction tools filled his ears. He watched with awe and mystification through his deep, yellow eyes. He had never seen so many grown-ups communed in just one place; not even in Kakariko or in Hyrule Market. For a few seconds, he stood there, quietly taking in the surroundings. Then Tatl jumped into his line of vision.  
  
She hovered in front of his face, not looking at him directly. "Ucch! He gives me the creeps! That mask salesman was the--" She paused when she noticed she was being glared. "Sorry... just thinking aloud. But c'mon! Three days?! Even if we never sleep that still leaves us with a mere 72 hours!! Good gods, talk about demanding!"  
  
"Should we just start asking around?" wondered Link. "I mean, with so many people around there was to be someone here that may have an inkling," He looked over at the workers carrying around bricks, wood, cutting the stone with sledgehammers... they looked way too busy with their work to talk to a little deku scrub. A little tingling sound alerted Link that Tatl had just come up with something.  
  
"Oh, hey! Let's go ask around until we find some more information," she said.  
  
"But, t-that's what I just--"  
  
"C'mon, let's get moving! Follow me!" She led the boy to a ramp that lead to the east wall of this enclosed town. As they walked, Tatl began to explain everything. "I take it you've lived in Hyrule all your life. This place is called Clock Town. It resides on the very center of the land of Termina."  
  
"...what's Termina?" Link asked confused.  
  
"It's another land in the world of Hyrule. When you entered that portal, you traveled out of your own land's dimension and into this one." Tatl led Link thru a door in the east wall and they entered another section of this large town. The place was still rather noisy, but the construction noise was much fainter. "This is East Clock Town. It's usually the busiest place in town, so there's bound to be someone here who knows about the Skull Kid."  
  
"Mm-kay." Link towards the entrance of an inn and out walked a man with odd- looking clothes. Link rushed up to him and tapped at his side. "Umm, excuse me?" The man turned around briskly and then looked down at him. "Could you tell if you've seen--"  
  
"I'm busy!!" the man spat out and walked away.  
  
"Geez, you'd think he'd have some protocol for you," Tatl muttered. "Maybe he's one of those kid haters."  
  
"I don't like grown-ups anyway," Link murmured. He began to walk away when his senses suddenly recurred that meeting as a déjà vu. With widened eyes, he flailed his head to where the strange man had just disappeared from. "Wait a minute--! Mr. Ingo?!" he chased after the man at full-speed and a bemused Tatl followed him, scolding at him to slow down. The boy couldn't believe he actually saw someone so familiar in this odd world. It had to be Ingo...  
  
Link stopped besides a building like any other, but this one had a swanky, green door in golden plated frame. Link ogled it for a moment before looking around him once more. "I wonder where he went...?" he wondered, scratching his head. "More of a question, how did he get here...? It is way too far from Lon Lon Ranch... it couldn't have been him..."  
  
"What the heck are you talking about?!" cried Tatl. "Besides that mask creep back at the clock tower, there can't be anybody here that you personally know!"  
  
Link tensed up, not willing to give in to those facts. "But... they looked so much alike," he protested to himself. "Wow... my mind has to be playing tricks on me or something."  
  
"Darn straight," Tatl said with an unnoticeable roll of the eyes. "Now let's go inside this place. This is the Mayor's residence, so he might probably know the skull kid's whereabouts by now..."  
  
Without too much dithering, Link walked to the unique door and reached for the doorknob, but he couldn't reach it by just four inches, even when he stood on his toes. Link groaned in frustration and Tatl laughed at this. "And I thought before you were a scrub you couldn't get any shorter!" Link grunted irritably and jumped in the air. He was able to grab the doorknob, but he was now hanging in the air, getting Tatl to laugh even harder.  
  
Link propped his legs against the door as he turned the knob with both hands. The door finally opened. "Hah! I did it!" he boasted. His hands slipped and he fell over, landing on his back. Tatl (you guessed it) laughed some more and hid under Link's hat as he brushed excess dust away. Tatl did not want to be the center of attention in an office, after all.  
  
The boy approached the front desk, where a young receptionist sat, smiling down at Link broadly. "Aw, such a cute little client!" she said. "I could just eat you up!"  
  
Link smiled nervously. "Can I have a talk with the mayor, ma'am?" he said.  
  
The receptionist smiled and uttered a silent 'aw!' seeing how mature the little scrub was trying to act. "So, you have some buuussiiinnesss?" she said in her failed attempt of baby-talk. "Well, the door to your left is the mayor's office, but it sounds like they're having a meeting in there. The door to your right is Madame Aroma's office and the drawing room."  
  
"Okay, thank you." Link said politely, ran to the left door and jumped to reach the doorknob, opening it a little bit. He peeked in and he practically had to cover his ears to mute the countless chattering. They were having a meeting and a serious one at that. Several workmen stood beside the mayor's desk and across from them stood some of the town's top guards.  
  
"Things look pretty ugly between them," Tatl commented.  
  
"That's not very nice, Tatl. The mayor isn't THAT ugly..." Link said, referring to Mayor Dotour who was sitting behind his desk, right in between the debating groups.  
  
"Heheh... good one," Tatl said apathetically. "Let's go; there's nothing to see here. The mayor's probably too busy to care for a kid like you--" she began, but was cut off.  
  
"Shh!" Link hissed, trying hard to listen over Tatl's yammering. Tatl was offended, but she avoided a brawl between the two of them and hid under Link's hat again, mumbling something under her breath. "I heard that," Link said snappily.  
  
"Don't care," Tatl replied.  
  
He shook his head, striving to disregard her. He left the door ajar so he wouldn't have to jump to open the door again. He crept into the office and stood at a corner. Since he went unnoticed, he stayed in that position and listened in. "Most of the townsfolk already have taken shelter without waiting for the mayor's orders. The only ones left are public servants and committee members," said one of the guards. "Mr. Mayor and Carnival Committee Members, please order those who remain to evacuate!"  
  
The mayor opened his mouth to speak out, yet he was interrupted by one of the workers that were on the opposite end of the room.  
  
"You cowards! Do you actually believe the moon will fall?" he bellowed tauntingly. "The confused townsfolk simply caused a panic by believing this ridiculous, baseless theory. The soldiers couldn't put a stop to the panic, but outside the town walls is where the real danger is! You want answers? The answer is that the carnival should not be canceled!" The man folded his arms across his chest and looked over at the mayor. "Isn't that right, Mr. Mayor?"  
  
The mayor scratched his head. "Uh, well--"  
  
The previous soldier replied in shock. "Are you serious, Mutoh?!? It seems that giant chunk of rock above us hasn't caught your eye!" Link gasped inaudibly. Was it really true? The moon was really falling? "At this time every year, we are overrun by tourists! So why is the town empty? Clearly it is your job to ensure the carnival's operation, but that's if people are here for it! Don't drag the merchants and soldiers into this!"  
  
"If the soldiers wish to run, then run, Viscen!" Mutoh shot back. "We councilmen will stick to the tradition. This carnival will be a success! I've never heard of a defense unit abandoning its town!" He smirked a bit when saying that. "Madame Aroma would surely say the same thing, wouldn't she, Mayor Dotour?"  
  
Rubbing his temples, Mayor Dotour shook his head. "...Let's not bring my wife into this," he moaned.  
  
Link crept towards the door and ran back to the main hall, accidentally slamming the door behind him. Uneasy about getting into trouble, he ran past the receptionist and to the main door as fast as he could. "Well, hello! So, how did... it... go...?" the receptionist asked him, but slowed to a stop when seeing how in a hurry the little deku scrub was. When Link was finally outside, he contemplated the sky. Tatl flew out of his hat and stared at him directly. "What is it with you and boring conversations?" she asked. "Don't you ever have an...? Uh, hello?! Are you listening to me?"  
  
Link pointed to the sky. "Look," he whispered. Tatl did so and her line of vision was mostly blocked by the gigantic moon up in the sky. Her eyes widened at the sight. She's never seen the Terminian moon so big. "That's moon's gonna fall," Link said.  
  
"Whaaat? T-That's impossible! A moon cannot fall!! ...can it?" she finished nervously.  
  
Link's sorrowful deku eyes gazed at the young fairy. He wasn't sure it was possible, but by the looks of things, he couldn't depend on logic anymore these days. He walked to the center of East Clock Town and sat on a box that was sitting there against a post. He watched mournfully two twin jugglers who seemed to be the only smiling faces around the area. They were practicing their routine without a care in the world. Link wished that he could be that optimistic at the moment. But with his horse gone, his ocarina stolen, his true physical self not there and the danger that this innocent town may have to face... there wasn't much to smile about.  
  
Tatl sighed, as if she was on his same train of thought. "You know, maybe we should get some food while were at it," she said to him, hoping to get him off that box and his sorry mood. Link just shook his head in reply.  
  
"That's okay; you go ahead. I'll be here when you're back," he murmured.  
  
"No, no, kid. You have to eat, too. How else are you going to keep your strength for the next two days, huh?" She tugged at his hat slightly. "Come on, I know a place. The woman is not the best cook, but--"  
  
"I haven't eaten in five days. Why start now?"  
  
"Five days?! Are you trying to kill yourself or what?!?" Tatl suddenly cried out. "Kid, you gotta eat something! What kind of stupid reason do you have for not sleeping right or eating in so long?"  
  
He looked up in displeasure, not wanting to discuss Navi any further. The more he thought of her at that moment, the more painful the situation felt. Even worse, he was stuck with a Navi look-alike fairy that barked at him like a tyrant aunt. "Fine, let's go eat something," he mumbled in defeat. Link just wanted her to quit it. "But I'm only doing it for you, okay?"  
  
Tatl was taken aback. She had never heard this out of someone else's mouth before. The person she always seemed to harass with her 'sisterly love' was her brother Tael, and not even he dared to defy her like Link did. "It's not like I care so much about you!" she snapped back in her defense. "I just don't want you whining about your aching stomach and slowing down at the last day because of this. You want your ocarina back? You gotta stay fully focused!" With that, she flew in front of the inn's door as if to point. "Now, upsy-daisy! It's past midday, now!!"  
  
Link forcefully got up with a groan and slowly shuffled over to the inn. He thankfully didn't have to open the door, for the town's postman was just entering the public house. Link stayed behind the postman and awaited his turn to speak to the innkeeper. He sat on a cushioned bench in the waiting room as the two grown-ups conversed. Link really didn't care-- they usually complained about boring or stupid stuff, so he just stared at the ground, humming Epona's song as he swayed his feet.  
  
When the postman finally left, Link stood up with haste and waddled to the main counter. Unfortunately, the counter was just as tall as he was, so he had to stand back and crane his neck when he spoke. He called for the attention of the lady behind the counter. Looks like she was the innkeeper...  
  
She looked down and managed to pull out a small smile. "Well, hello there! What a cute little customer!" she greeted. Tatl whispered in Link's ear. "Brace yourself... you're gonna get that a lot in this town..." she said. The lady behind the counter stood up straight and looked behind Link. "Are you going to be staying here? Where's your mother?" she asked courteously.  
  
Link blushed and scratched his neck. "Um... she's, uhh... I don't have..."  
  
"Well, I'm very sorry, but we're all booked with reservations," the innkeeper lady said. "Could you tell that to your mother?"  
  
Link sighed, not very sure about what to do. Tatl leaned close and again whispered something in his ear. When seeing Link nod, the lady assumed he had understood what he had to do. But Link did not leave the inn, so the lady put a hand up to her chest, worried all of a sudden. "Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry... you DO have a mother, right?"  
  
"No, she's just... out somewhere..." Link half-lied. "But she can't take care of me right now and I'm... hungry." He stressed the word 'hungry'; it was sort of hard for him to say it.  
  
"Ohh! Oh!" The lady suddenly went into spasm and ran away from her desk, away from Link and Tatl's sight. They both just stared ahead in confusion.  
  
"Oooh-kay... that was weird," Tatl mumbled.  
  
Not even two seconds later, the lady came out again, this time from behind the deku boy via the first level doorway. She stopped right in front of him, kneeled down and grabbed Link's shoulders caringly. "You poor thing! You're hungry? Oh, please stay; at least until your mother comes by. I'll cook you something... follow me." She walked back to the doorway casually. Tatl did a little ding sound, emphasizing her winking. Link followed the innkeeper without hesitation.  
  
"My name is Anju," the lady said, grabbing an apron that was hooked up to the wall and she led Link towards another door in the hallway as she quickly put her apron on. She spoke hurriedly. "I'll be back as soon as I can with some lunch. In the meantime, you wait in this room right here, alright? Don't worry-- I just hope you like soup." And she walked off to the other end of the hall and into the kitchen. Reluctantly at first, Link went through the door and entered a small, but cozy bedroom. He had to do a double-take before realizing there was somebody else in the room. It was a elderly woman, sitting by the dim fireplace with a book in her hands. Knowing it was best to not disturb her, Link sat across the room in a small chair waiting for Anju to come back.  
  
Minutes later, Anju came back, holding two heavy-looking trays in her arms. Link stood up at once and took one tray out of her hands, willing to help out. Anju smiled at him and held the remaining tray with both hands. "My, you are a true gentleman!" she complimented. "Thank you."  
  
Sitting back on the small, wooden chair, Link put the tray on his lap, since if he had put it on the table he couldn't reach it without standing up. He stared down at the food warily. It was almost daunting that this was the day he would break such a long fast; on account of that the food didn't look very appetizing. But he knew he had to... as a minimum he had to satisfy Tatl, unless he wanted her on his nerves for the next two days. Another thing-- how was he going to eat it?  
  
"Just shove it into your mouth... or snout... whatever it is," Tatl said jokingly when she saw Link stared down at the food in confusion. But it seemed to work at the first spoonful... so Link continued to eat... fast.  
  
"Oh, Tortus, take that thing away. I already ate lunch," said the old lady to Anju, slightly waving her hand.  
  
Anju sighed. "Grandmother, Tortus was my father," she said in annoyance. "And you haven't eaten any lunch yet. You barely ever leave this room."  
  
Anju's grandmother took her nose out of the book and looked at her. "Didn't I already say I have eaten lunch, Tortus? Impossible child!" she said. Link watched the scene while he ate; his plate almost empty. Anju face looked like she was about to explode. But instead, she slumped down her shoulders and closed her eyes.  
  
"Fine, just don't eat my food then," she muttered wretchedly.  
  
Her grandmother leaned back on her chair and looked down at the book she held once more. "Whew..." she uttered a little too loud for Anju's liking.  
  
Anju's jaw hung open as she gripped the tray until her knuckles turned white. "...'Whew'?!"  
  
"Uhh... I meant, whew-w-w-would you like me to read you a story?" the grandmother said sheepishly, trying to save her cover. Anju just sighed frustratingly and stormed towards the door. Before she could leave, Link stepped in between her and the door, holding the tray with the empty plate. Anju's frown curved into a small smile.  
  
"Wow, you really were hungry!" she said. "So you really liked it? Would you like some more?"  
  
Link frowned a little and shook his head quickly. "N-No, thank you. I'm... I'm full."  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
**To Be Continued...**


	4. What Is It To Be Adored?

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 3: What Is It To Be Adored?**  
  
_Link looked down at himself. His hands, his feet... he rubbed his face with his palms. He was a child again. Looking from the beautiful ivory rooftops of the Temple of Time to its decorative floors, his gaze fell upon the glorious Master Sword that sat before him, proudly shining in its pedestal. Link's determined look curved into a childish grin of triumph...  
  
"We did it, Navi," he cried out happily, unable to contain his excitement. Navi, his most trusting friend, looked down at him with a motherly smile.  
  
"No, Link... YOU did it," she said.  
  
"Are you kidding?!" Link said to her incredulously, in the middle of a bound. "Without you, I would have ended up as Gohma chow!! I could not have done anything if it wasn't for you! I mean, you're the--" Link suddenly stopped when a strange feeling overcame him. He returned his gaze to the little fairy, which hovered inched in front of his face. "...Navi?" he began with worry.  
  
Unnoticed by the boy hero, Navi's lower lip started to tremble. But he put a smile on for the child. "Link... you've become a wonderful, wonderful hero," he replied in a hushed tone. Link sustained to look at her with curious eyes. She continued. "And that is why... Navi can now return in peace to the forest."  
  
A second or two maybe passed as Link soaked in to her words. His eyes narrowed slightly and then widened in awareness. "But-- But you're saying that--" he gasped when Navi started to back away, ready to fly off into the world. "No!! Wait-- Don't go, please!!"  
  
His pleading only stung the fairy's heart even more as she was now nearing the temple's rooftop windows. Link ran after her in vain, as if there was no other way to go. Navi turned her back and left the heartbroken boy behind; she was long gone, but her whispered words still lingered in Link's young elven ears.  
  
"Link... I adore you, Link..."  
  
For a brief second, Link tightly shut his eyes to hold back the tears and attempted to fight this 'like a man'. As he opened his eyes once more, he was no longer in the stunning temple... but in the land of Termina. A dark, disordered land of Termina.  
  
Pain... Destruction... Chaos...  
  
Those three words explained plainly what Link saw around him.  
  
Guards screaming as the moon breaks into their hemisphere.  
  
An explosion... the moon bursts into flames...  
  
Buildings crumble around them... Innocent children burning to their bloody deaths...  
  
Link reared back, bracing himself for the impact. The last thing he beheld before he shut his eyes in fear... was the moon staring back at him... its blood-red eyes seemed to pierce right through him as it appeared to speak...  
  
'I shall consume... everything...'___

* * *

Link woke up in cold sweat, breathing heavily and reassuring to himself it was just a dream. He had fallen asleep on the divan in the inn's waiting room right after his lunch. Link sat up and looked down at his feet. He was still a deku scrub... not all of it was a dream after all. He lied back down, gripping at the divan's cushion. He hated these dreams that suddenly became nightmares... they always seemed so real at the start. Above all he no longer had someone to soothe him with kind words... not Saria... not Navi... no one. Tears started welling up in his eyes but he held back the sobs. Tatl -who had also been asleep- popped out from under his hat and looked at him.  
  
"Rough night, huh?" she said. "You overslept. It's the second day and it's almost 10 'o clock! We're wasting time! Let's go!!" she nudged at Link's shoulder, and the child was still immobile. "Get up! We don't have much time-- we have to find out where the Skull Kid is before that creepy guy leaves town!"  
  
"Moving on," Link said softly while standing up. He forcefully shoved aside all thoughts about Navi, though it really hurt. He expected to see Anju behind the main counter, but he instead saw a vaguely plump lady, looking down at some papers she was signing. "Excuse me...?" Link began. The lady kept signing papers, but she raised her eyebrows to indicate she was listening. "Is Ms. Anju around? I wanted to thank her for the lunch yesterday."  
  
"She went out for a walk," the lady said. Then a booming thunderclap resounded, causing the decorative masks and picture frames on the walls to clatter.  
  
"Out in the rain?" Link uttered in mild shock. The lady just nodded and turned her back, trying to finish her work in peace. Jumping to turn the doorknob, Link ran out of the warm, cozy inn and right into a cold, pouring thunderstorm. He headed back to South Clock Town, which was the lowest point in town so the place was pretty much flooded. Three inches, to be more exact. But apparently, this did not stop the workmen from building what Link had overheard to be the 'festival tower'. The pounding hammers were still heard, though now kind of muted by the rain and thunder. "Where could she be...?" Link wondered aloud.  
  
Tatl flew in little circles around his head as if she was pacing impatiently. "You know, I'm sure she already knows that you're thankful. After all, you did eat all her sordid food," she said. Now, Link didn't really know what Tatl meant by 'sordid', but he had a feeling it wasn't a compliment, so... he ignored her. Southwest of South Clock Town, there was a path that looked pretty insignificant at the first-time glance. A small, rundown sign by the path said Laundry Pool. Link had no idea what compelled him to go down that road, but when he arrived at the pool, it just started raining harder.  
  
In the corner near the pool, Anju was sitting on a bench looking down sorrowfully, holding a red umbrella over her head. But that wasn't enough to leave her dry; for the bench was completely soaked wet and the rain was so strong that it battered right under the umbrella. Link's compassionate ways led him to sit down on the bench beside her. Looking over at him, Anju couldn't even crack a smile. But the kindness in her voice was still there.  
  
"Hello, young scrub. Have you found your mother?" she asked. Link smiled, not sure if he should answer that or not. He felt bad enough lying about that just once. Observing his smile, Anju figured he had found his mother already. "Well, I'm glad. I really don't know why any mother would not want to spend a day of shopping with a gentleman like you."  
  
The boy looked down and swayed his feet. "So... how about this rain, eh?" he said. "It's, uhh... really rainy." He mentally kicked himself at the stupidity he had just blurted out. "I- I just wanted to say thank you for yesterday's lunch." Anju nodded, keeping a smile to herself. She was being pretty quiet.  
  
Anju sighed. "Do rainy days make you feel sad, too?" she suddenly said after a moment of silence. Link looked up; unaware that such question would be directed to him. Another thunderclap resounded, making his sigh inaudible and he nodded yes. Anju did a small movement and leaned down a bit, trying to read the little scrub's expression. "But Deku Scrubs are supposed to like rain. At least one of us has a reason to be happy..."  
  
"Why aren't you happy...?" Link questioned curiously. When he had met this woman, sadness was probably the last thing he thought that would ever overcome her. But here she was, sitting outside in the middle of a storm with no apparent reason. Anju did not answer this question, so Link took the hint and left her in her solitude. Finally out of the Laundry Pool, Tatl emerged again.  
  
"Okay, so while you were asleep, I overheard that there was this Goron guy who's name was just like yours! Isn't that funny?" Link eyes widened. Goron Link? Could it have been...? Nah, it couldn't be. "Anyway, he was speaking to this weird guy last night about a professor who knew about this troublemaker that has been running around lately! I think it's the Skull Kid he had talking about!" she said excitedly.  
  
"So I take it we should see this professor, right?" Link said.  
  
"Of course! Follow me-- I know a shortcut!" Sure enough, Tatl led Link back to East Clock Town, and between all the hustle and bustle, she was able to find a passage hidden in an alley near the mayor's office. At the other side of this dingy passage was a small colorful atmosphere. There was stuff lying about everywhere in this laboratory-like building. Link ascended up the stairs to find an old man looking through his telescope. Since he was the only one around, Link figured this was his establishment. Before he could make himself known, Link's eyes drifted to a glass case near him. Inside, a stunning blue gem in the shape of a teardrop was encased. He stared at it in wonder, unaware that he was stepping closer to it, thus getting the old man's attention.  
  
"I see you are quite intrigued on this Moon's Tear, young lad," he said astutely. Link jumped, and turned to face the man nervously.  
  
"I... I'm sorry, sir," he uttered timidly. "If I am trespassing, I didn't-- "  
  
The elder laughed heartily and looked down at the Deku Scrub with a twinkle in his eye. "Ohh no, young lad! In fact, you are much more polite than that little mischievous group of children that drop by here every once in awhile." Link tilted his head, not really sure to whom he was referring to, but didn't comment when the elder said something that caught his complete attention. "Those kids I suspect may have something to do with the unexpected appearances of that rebellious forest child..."  
  
"Forest child?" Link said in bewilderment as Tatl gasped under the boy's hat.  
  
"Yes, the children are known to have hooted at what we know as the skull kid, but we are not entirely sure if they do this out of encouragement or hate." He side-stepped next to the center of the platform, in which hanging above it was a colossal astral telescope. "Would you like to look through my telescope?" he asked; kind of getting off the subject. In pure curio, Link nodded yes and looked through the telescope's lens, unable to listen to Tatl's constant demands to ask more about the Skull Kid. Link looked around the land in awe. The lens couldn't allow him to look all over the land, but he could see the entrance from Clock Town to the fields of Termina. Focusing on the Clock Tower -were he had entered this world from- he looked to the very tiptop of the structure.  
  
"Hey!!"  
  
"What?!?" both Tatl and the professor questioned (Tatl was at Link's earshot and the professor couldn't hear her). The boy's mouth hung open as he look a step back and then he ran. Without a note of farewell, he jumped off the platform, down the stairs and back through the sewer tunnels that led back to Clock Town. Tatl emerged again. "What is it?! What did you see??" she demanded to know.  
  
"The Skull Kid... was up... in the top of the... Clock Tower..." he said in between breaths as he stopped his sprint right in front of the Mayor's Residence. "Have... to tell Mayor..." He turned to the door and reached to open it when Tatl pushed against his forehead, gaining his attention.  
  
"Isn't this assignment supposed to be your problem?!" she said. "You can't bring the rest of the town into this, kid!" Link's face fell; coping with the facts was not going to be easy. "Moreover, the Clock Tower only opens at the eve of the carnival... which is midnight tomorrow night."  
  
Link looked up at her. Tomorrow night? "But-- But the Skull kid!! What if he leaves?! Isn't there another way?!"  
  
"I'm afraid there isn't," Tatl said in a harsh yet vaguely soft tone.  
  
Link glared frustratingly at the girl fairy, shocked at her lack of optimism and conviction. As far as he was concerned, Tatl was just another faithless face in a crowd that always attempted to bring him down. He tried to protest, but he couldn't... he just couldn't.  
  
**((Link's Point of View))  
**  
It finally stopped raining when evening came.  
  
I spent most of the night in North Clock Town; a place that differed a lot from the rest of Clock Town's sections. There were a few trees prettifying the space and grass covered the ground where there was no road. It reminded me a bit of The Lost Woods... minus the slide, of course. Sitting on the playground slide's steps, I drifted off into a daze, humming Saria's Song and absentmindedly bobbing my head at the song's rhythm. I thought about going back to the Stock Pot Inn, but Tatl said it's best if I didn't. She said something about me caring about people way too much.  
  
Okay, I had to admit-- I was mostly worried about Ms. Anju. I stopped humming and looked down at my wooden hands while I gathered my thoughts. It was so weird seeing her so sad. I really wanted to see if I could help, but in my stupid current body and the way I look it feels like I can't get away with anything I say. What I mean is... I'm just a toddler in everyone's eyes.  
  
Sighing, I laid down under the stone-cold slide. It was less wet down there, so I pretty much could sleep here. My thoughts returned to Anju and her unbelievable kindness I didn't deserve. I wished I could repay that kindness somehow... but I guess I first had to find out about what was troubling her, huh? Her eyes looked kind of lost, really... not the kind of lost where you don't know where you're headed to... but the kind of lost when you have something missing in you. I know I've felt that way.  
  
"...Navi..."  
  
I closed my eyes mournfully. Her last words to me still echoed in my mind. Yet... I still can't understand why she left me. 'Return to the forest?' She was supposed to stay with me forever. She was my guardian fairy!  
  
I shook my head and snapped out of it when I felt angry tears welling up again. Last time I thought like this, the outcome wasn't really good. Looking down at my arm I noticed for the first time that I still had my scar from that stupid broken bottle. But it looked more like a jagged crack on my deku body. I sighed and leaned back against the pillars. What was I thinking of in the beginning...?  
  
Ohh, yes... Ms. Anju.  
  
Maybe Ms. Anju lost someone the way I lost Navi. Someone she loved very much... someone she--  
  
/THUMP!/ "Ow...!" I heard something nearby. Sounded like someone got hurt.  
  
Out of instinct, I stood up immediately and poked my head out from behind the pillars, looking for the source. In the side of the road, I saw a shadow of a kid sitting down in an uncomfortable way while holding his foot. I was sure he was not much of a threat so I sprinted out and rushed over to help him. "Hey, are you okay?" I said in my new weird voice as soon as I neared him. He looked like he was around my age-- maybe ten or eleven years old. There was not much that stood out from him except that he was wearing a Keaton mask...  
  
I reached out my hand to help him up, but the masked kid stood up by himself and shoved me into the path. I yelled in surprise. That hurt!! I wasn't as strong and well-balanced as I used to be, so I ended up falling on my back and awaking Tatl, who had fallen asleep on a tree branch. She fluttered down to me in a hurry, but not with a lot of concern (much to my displeasure).  
  
"What happened now?" she said.  
  
"That kid over just pushed me--" I looked before me and muted a breath. The kid was gone. He ran off as soon as I fell to the ground.  
  
Tatl just looked even more annoyed. "What kid?? There's no one else here beside the gate guards!!" She shook her head and began to head back to the tree. "See-- this is what happens when you don't sleep. You start seeing things that are not there. Get some rest, kid."  
  
Link sighed and solemnly walked back under the slide, but not before turning around and eyeing North Clock Town's exit suspiciously.  
  
_'Who was that kid...?'_  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
**To Be Continued...**


	5. Memories of Princess Zelda

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 4: Memories of Princess Zelda**  
  
_A cool, gentle breeze prodded Link to open his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, his eyes adjusted to the bright atmosphere around him. He floated on what felt like the middle of a cloud; white enveloped the wide open place like a cotton field. The air smelled of fresh flowers... no disquieting noises, no flaws; all was peaceful in this pastel space. All negative and foreboding thoughts felt so far away...  
  
It was almost heaven...  
  
He softly hummed a strong, foreign melody. He did not know how he'd come up with such a charming tune in one sitting, though... it had just come up to him. Putting his hands on the back of his head, he lay down on the soft cloud with a broad smile and inhaled the sweet fragrance. Whether this was a dream or not, it was still the most relaxing experience he has surveyed for months. He closed his eyes and continued to hum this alien melody.  
  
How he wished this dream would never end...  
  
And yet...  
  
He watched hopelessly as the scene burned away, flames licking away the clouds and seeing charred buildings in their place. Link got up and hopelessly ran from the fire, looking for an escape. But this time, he did not see the citizens of Termina, but the people back in Hyrule he knew and loved.  
  
Link could only watch as his friends suffered before his very eyes. The flames materialized into fiery monsters that burned the precious grass they would step upon.  
  
Saria being dragged into the Zora River. Malon being engulfed into the fiery beast's throat. His Kokiri friends... all screaming out to Link.  
  
They scream for his help...  
  
Encased in a ring of fire, Link cringed and fell to his knees, unable to look any further. Without his weapon... without his fairy... he felt so feeble. He shut his eyes tightly, but the screams ringed at his ears.  
  
"LINK! HELP US!!"  
  
Falling into a heap on the burning ground, he covered his pointed ears. Unwanted tears escaped from his eyes and his knees loomed up to his chest. "Oh, Goddesses! Make it stop! Please!!" he cried.  
  
Darkness engulfed his senses...  
  
Over the debris, hovered a mask...  
  
A mask...  
  
That mask... it was so familiar..._

__

* * *

Something awoke him from his nightmare. He could not tell what it was... for the children were screaming, and the guards were ushering families through the path whilst screaming out orders to the retreating townsfolk. And this was just in the most passive place in town. Link was swept off the ground and out from under his concrete shelter by an unforeseen tremor that shook the entire town. Yelping in surprise, he rolled down the small grassy hill and landed at a guard's feet.  
  
"Young Scrub!! Where are your mother and father?!" the guard cried out to Link over the frightened screams of the townsfolk. "You must find them and leave this town at once!!" With the blunt end of his spear, he pushed back a little girl trying to make a run to the exit. "You cannot leave without adult supervision!"  
  
At the same time as the young girl pleaded to the guard to let her through, Link backed away and broke into a sprint, bumping into numerous people and families on the process. They were pushing and shoving each other all the way to the exits that lead to the widespread Termina field. Tatl stayed as close as possible to Link in hopes no one would try to swat her away like a bug. Her fairy wings grew pained and exhausted when finally they were both away from the swarming crowd.  
  
"What's going on with everyone?? What did I miss?!" Link cried out to Tatl.  
  
The girl fairy snorted slightly. "You must be blind or something-- the target is pretty much hard to miss," she said sardonically and she pointed to the sky above.  
  
The sky was growing from light blue to pitch black by the second. Unnatural clouds surrounded the town in a circular motion like if they were magnetically brought to the source of heat. And right in the middle of it all was Termina's moon; no long a sphere in the horizon, but a boulder many times the size of the town, just miles away from crashing onto the Clock Tower. Link had never witnessed something so aberrant and frightening... especially in such a place. He staggered back, not in fear but in disbelief.  
  
This really was the last day...  
  
Another horde of people pushed by the scrub, mostly pointing at the moon and confused as to whether or not it was going to fall on top of them. Grown-ups complained as they left their homes and their shops behind.  
  
"DAMN YOU, GODDESSES!! WHY DO YOU WISH TO ANNIHILATE US?!?!" one of them shouted towards the heavens.  
  
Not sure he could sustain anymore, Link made his way to East Clock Town, constantly stumbling on his small feet. He thought he could not be any more shocked but the new scene proved him wrong. As they entered the East gate, he saw the place absolutely deserted. The once busiest place in town and it was completely empty. Even Tatl looked shaken up. "Looks like everyone's fleeing to the mountains up North..." she muttered. "Maybe we should go as well... I doubt Skull Kid would want to stick around to have a giant rock smash onto his face."  
  
"No," Link said. "I'm going to stand my ground. And I know Skull Kid is standing his ground as well." Crestfallen, he turned to look at the fairy. "Even if he did leave, I can't. You heard that guard. I can't escape town without an adult. Unless..."  
  
"Unless what??" Tatl blurted the question in curiosity. Link trotted down the stone steps that led to the entrance of the Stock Pot Inn. "You're gonna get Anju to get you out of town?! That's crazy talk!!" Link ignored her while she continued to yammer on about something. But just a few feet away from the door to the inn, he stopped. It turns out the town wasn't so deserted after all. The familiar looking figure of a child was crouched down in front of the door. Apparently, it looked like he was trying to slide something under it with his left hand while pushing back his blue hair bangs away from his vision.  
  
"That's the kid from last night!" Link realized a little too loudly. The boy stood up and faced the deku; his Keaton mask still covered his face. His emotion was not very apparent, but he stepped back like if he was in shock of being discovered. Not thinking about last night's mistake, Link approached the boy. "Who are you and what are you doing with--?" his sentence was cut off once again as the boy forcefully shoved Link against a wall a made a run for it. He disappeared when turning the corner and heading towards the South gate.  
  
"Whoo... that's one abusive track-star kid," Tatl commented. Out the corner of her eye, she spotted something lying on the floor. She glided down to it and peered in interest. "Hey, that kid dropped something! Looks like a letter."  
  
Link -still rubbing his head, mind you- picked up the letter from the floor and brushed away the dirt from it. It was a burgundy envelope with fine golden detail at its edges. The package looked quite expensive-- even for a child. Link flipped it over and read the inscription in the front.  
  
_'To Anju, From Kafei,'_ it read.  
  
Kafei? Link squinted apprehensively at the letter. Who the hell was Kafei? Tatl sighed in exasperation and strived to get Link's attention once again. "Just leave it on the floor-- Anju will find it," she said. "After all, it is for her."  
  
"But I wanted to ask her--"  
  
Link covered his ears (or lack of ears) at the hollow ringing of the town bell. It rang six times, indicating it was now six 'o clock. Night was nearing and at every second glance, the moon appeared to be much, much closer.  
  
**((Hours Later))**  
  
"Don't you get it?!? The moon is going to fall any second now!! You have to leave town before something bad really DOES happen!!" Link cried in dismay to a guard who worked in the gates of South Clock Town. Unlike the guard up north of the gate, this man refused to abscond his position.  
  
He shook his head. "Even if such impossible surmise were to take place, I will not flee from my line of duty. On the other hand, you should have left town along with the others!"  
  
Defeated, Link shuffled away sadly and sat on the wooden bench nearby. He had a clear look at the Clock Tower from his seat, but the colorful scene looked joyful no more. The scene was dark and foreboding. His yellow eyes shifted from the stubborn guard to the festival tower right before him. It was said this tower was built every year at the carnival and it would contain a bridge that the people would cross and enter the Clock Tower from. But this year, there laid an uncompleted festival tower without any steps to ascend or bridge to cross. All of the workmen had fled the town in fear. All except the leader of the workmen, Mutoh...  
  
"My apprentice would be disgusted with you all!!" he had yelled at them when they took their leave. "Disgusting cowards!! All of you!!" he turned his head upwards to the sky. Well, the sky was no longer visible... now the moon had taken over the town's line of sight and the blue, star-filled firmament was no more. Mutoh seethed at the sight. "Blasted moon!! You have ruined it all! If you're going to fall, fall already, dammit!" he blurted out with pure hate. "To hell with you all! I'll have a fine carnival without you!"  
  
As if on cue, another tremor shook the settlement as the moon neared the earth even closer. Link gripped the sides of the bench to keep from falling on his face. Another minute closer to midnight. The door to the Clock Tower would open soon. Link shuddered as he looked on ahead to these foolish people that wouldn't take their leave. They just couldn't see the danger in this.  
  
"If only I was my true self again, I bet they would listen to me..." he muttered to himself sadly. If he did get his ocarina back from the Skull Kid, he might have a chance to get back home on time; but what about the citizens of Termina? It hurt the young boy's heart to see these men having to suffer such a death. The images of his nightmare flashed through his mind. The land would be no more if this were to happen. Link did not know why... but he felt responsible for it...  
  
_CLANG!_  
  
The bell resounded, signaling the coming of midnight. And along with the indication came another tremor. Link had gotten used to them, for they had been coming in frequently since he had awoken that morning, but this one shook him and everyone else out of balance. Fireworks for the carnival filled the landscape with light. But they went unnoticed by anyone. Craning his neck up to see, Link sighed in conquest when he saw the tower's door flew open, now accessible and its stairs led to the rooftop. There was just one little problem...  
  
"Um... how are you going to get up there?" Tatl asked him. When she didn't receive an answer, she grew panicked all of a sudden. "Oh, Goddesses! You dim-witted kid!! You should have thought of a straight-forward plan first! Now how are we going to get to Tael?! I mean, you knew that we were going to..." she saw Link was no longer listening, but talking to someone else. A deku scrub merchant, to be exact. She began listening in at the middle of their conversation.  
  
"Please, I will not be claiming it as mine-- I just need it to get to the top of the Clock Tower," Link said, talking about the large, yellow deku flower that the merchant was standing on. The deku merchant's eyes had widened when hearing the child's request.  
  
"Young Scrub, that is no place for you to go unsupervised... especially with such events happening now," he said slowly. But unable to give in to the child's pleading stare, he stepped aside and let the boy climb onto the large flower. "Make it quick," he mumbled at Link, cautiously looking over at the guard.  
  
Link bowed his head in thanks and dove into the flower with haste. Catapulting out of it, he was launched into the air and right over the base of the Clock Tower entrance. Parachuting down softly, he let go of the deku flowers and landed right in front the entrance. He smiled slightly, "I'm never going to get tired of that," he said to himself. Taking in a deep breath, he ran up the stairs expecting the unexpected. The way to the top of the Clock Tower was short, but unnerving... kind of like Ganon's Tower forward in the dark years in Hyrule. At these late hours, he'd expect the weather to be colder the higher he ascended. Yet it was getting warmer by each step he took up the stairs.  
  
A wide open room with outlandish designs on its floor was the end of the mounting path. The room's walls were short and it had no roof, so there was a very clear look at the sky above. Pillars outstretched past the walls with the same strange décor the boy saw at his feet. At first, Link thought he was lost, but Tatl flew before him and looked up. Sure enough, there was the masked Skull Kid, still with Link's ocarina in his hand and carelessly lobbing it as if it were some kind of toy. This angered deku Link even more as he stared daggers through the forest child. Right in the middle of this staring contest, an indigo light flew from behind Skullkid. It was Tael, making himself known.  
  
"Sis!" the fairy cried out to Tatl, quite joyously.  
  
Tatl beamed at him and she let out a sigh of relief, glad that they were able to catch up to them on time. "Tael! We've been looking for you two!" she turned to the Skullkid, who was still lobbing the ocarina with his left hand. "Hey, Skullkid, what if you gave that mask you're wearing back now? Huh?" Skullkid said nothing. Under his mask was an unnoticed smirk. Tatl began to grow impatient. "Hey, c'mon, are you listening?" she said louder.  
  
Link was growing tired. He took a step closer and spoke up. "Look, this isn't funny anymore, Skull Kid. Just give me back the ocarina and I'll pretend this never happened, okay?"  
  
The Skullkid gasped dramatically in mock shock. "He speaks!" he said histrionically before he broke into another sickening stream of giggles. "And I thought your vocal chords had left along with that midget body of yours. Nice voice, by the way."  
  
Clenching his fists, Link took a couple of steps closer to the hovering Skullkid, but Tatl 'stood' in front of him and prevented Link to come any closer. Link shot the masked imp another hateful glare. "That moon... do you have anything to do with the fact that it's falling?" Link asked calmly, but irately.  
  
The Skull Kid crossed his arms over his chest the moment Link mentioned the moon. After long second of silence, Skull Kid leaned his head down a bit towards Link. The mask's ominous green-yellow eyes seemed to stare right through the child in an inhuman way. "What if I am...?" he said slyly.  
  
Tael felt the tension in the room and started to feel weary. Growing nervous, the little boy fairy knew that this was no game anymore. There has to be someone that can stop this from going any further. He hovered in front of the imp and spoke to his sister and Link. "Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon. Hurry... the four who are there! Bring them here--"  
  
About to finish his sentence, the Skull Kid grew angry and callously smacked the fairy away like if it were an insect. "Don't speak out of line!! Stupid fairy!!" he growled at Tael. Tael shook in fear and kept his silence, afraid this might get worse.  
  
Tatl gasped. He had gone too far this time. "No!! What are you doing to my brother?!" she said in a mix of bewilderment and anger. "Skullkid, do you think you're still our friend after that?!?!"  
  
Link heard the Skull Kid scoff. "Whatever. Even if they were to come right now, they wouldn't be able to handle me..." Link lowered his head. This was too much for him to take. Just who are they talking about anyway? What four? "Just look above you," he added, speaking of the moon beyond their heads. It was now so close to the ground that it might as well be the roof of this open room. Link shrank back, starting to feel its heat.  
  
"If it's something that can be stopped, then just try and stop it!"  
  
Raising his meager arms over his head, this forest child who would look no more than a peaceful creature let out a yell of command to the heavens. And when Link even thought it would be completely impossible, the moon began to loom over to Termina even faster. Several miles over the very tip of the tower, the moon instantly erupted into fiery flames. The explosion was so near the youngsters that both Link and SkullKid were shoved to the ground. The Skull Kid lost his grip on the ocarina and the frail instrument slid across the floor.  
  
Link's gaze followed the ocarina and back to the flaming moon. The whole town was quaking, the town bell rang violently and the large bricks of this strong tower began falling apart like a child's building blocks. Link skillfully rolled out of the way of the falling debris, but he knew sooner or later the room he was in himself would crumble below his feet. On all fours, he carefully crawled towards the ocarina, which was now dangerously close to the edge of a humongous fissure on the floor. He didn't know what worried him more in that second-- the thought of losing his most precious possession, the safety of this entire land of Termina, or the fact that he might just burst into inferno at any second.  
  
Tatl dodged brick after falling brick as she searched around frantically, scared for her little brother. "TAEL! WHERE ARE YOU?!?" she hollered over the noise. She thought she might die of fright at the moment and out the corner of her eye she spotted Link, his hand outstretched to his royal blue ocarina.  
  
Link's sweat from both heat and anxiety poured down his face. He was so close... his arm shrunk back when a brick as large as he was fell riskily close to his head and he heard another explosion from above. He was afraid to look up, for he knew it wasn't a pretty sight. He outstretched his hand again, inches away from his beloved instrument.  
  
_...just a bit farther...  
  
...you can do it, Link...  
  
The Goddesses... they are with you...  
_  
The ground shook fiercely and the ocarina toppled over to the fissure on the ground.  
  
"NOOOO!!" Link screeched and jumped after it. He made a grab for it in midair with his right hand and shakily held on to the edge of the fissure with his free hand. With much struggling he finally pulled himself up and to the floor. He held the ocarina close to his chest fondly; the moon's blazing shell just miles away from him was momentarily forgotten. Tatl flew down next to him and the little girl fairy smirked.  
  
"Not bad for a deku scrub," she muttered, not loud enough for the boy to hear. "Now, please!! Help me find my brother!!" she said, this time at earshot.  
  
But Link's mind was in another matter. As he held his ocarina, floods of memories with this instrument ran through his head. He remembered... speaking to Princess Zelda of Hyrule just days before he returned to Kokiri Forest...  
  
_If something should happen to you, remember this song...  
  
The Goddess of Time is protecting you...  
  
When you play this song... she will aid you..._  
  
Link opened his eyes with hope. 'That song... how could I have forgotten...?'  
  
Suddenly aware that Tatl was screaming at his ear, he glanced at her in bewilderment. "Snap out of it, you!" she screeched "Getting that old ocarina back isn't gonna help us!!"  
  
Link ran towards the tower's stairs, knowing if he stayed one more second in this zone, he'd be dead. He looked back briefly; the SkullKid was nowhere in sight. This unnerved him strongly, but having no time to dawdle, he ran down the dark staircase, only to find that it was blocked by a barricade of fallen stone. Behind him, another barricade formed and it was quite obvious now he was stuck. Tatl shook with fear and yelled out in vain.  
  
"Somebody! Anybody!!! Goddesses, help us please! We need more time!!!"  
  
_...more time..._  
  
The young boy looked down at his ocarina. 'That song... Nayru, please help up...'  
  
With that last thought, he pulled the ocarina up to his face and closed his eyes in concentration. As he held the ocarina, something about it felt strange... and different. Opening his eyes, he beheld that his beloved instrument has takes the form to suit a deku child. Tatl gasped loudly. "Huh?! Wh-- when did you get that instrument?!" she asked. In Link's arms was now a large mouth organ, also referred to as the Deku Pipes.  
  
Tatl could only stare in uncertainty as to why this kid was playing music at this moment. The pull of the moon caused the hallway's roof to open up over them and Tatl once more faced the gruesome face of Termina's moon. But that song... in some unexplainable way, it brought peace to the fairy.  
  
Was this melody the key to saving them?  
  
If it was, it seemed as if it was a bit too late. As the boy played its last note, the blazing firewall met his level. Link fell back to the floor... someone called his name in worry. His feeble body was burning; he could not get up... he could not run away. So he lay still, accepting that this was his time.  
  
He felt himself being lifted up by the moon's pull. It was a wonder why he was still alive. Link's eyes remained shut when a strange feeling overcame him. He was no longer burning. The dreadful sounds were gone. The screaming, the collapsing structures, the roaring fires... all gone. Was he alive...?  
  
Or was he...?  
  
He dared to open his eyes. He was still there. The moon was inches away from his body. What had happened? Did time just... stop? The pain slowly began to crawl back through his veins. Running away was no option, for he was frozen in time as well.  
  
_Panic....  
  
Darkness...  
  
Then light... blessed light..._

__

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	6. One Of A Kind Valor

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 5: One Of A Kind Valor**

****

* * *

_Voices... images... overlapping... so confusing...  
  
"L-Link, what's going on?..... you have to get some sleep..... I don't want you getting hurt....wait! ...Where are you going?..." "What? That stupid horse of yours?..... I did you a favor and got rid of it..... Aww, boo-hoo. Why the sad face? I just thought I'd have a little fun with you...... fool..."  
_  
Link gritted his teeth, trying to drown out the voices. "Quit it...!!" He saw the events back home flash before his eyes.  
  
_"If I wasn't dealing with you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother!...... Well, don't just sit there, Deku boy! Do something!!....... Please!! C'mon, a helpless, little girl is asking you..."  
  
"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"_  
  
Link's eyes fluttered open. Those gears... so familiar... they ticked away noisily over the crow of the morning rooster. The boy's blurred vision faded away and before him he saw the highly unfinished heap of a festival tower. The construction men carrying the lumber and pounding their work hammers. Have they come back...? Did he manage to stop the moon on time?  
  
No... it couldn't have been. Tatl flew ahead of the deku boy and gazed around her. They stood in South Clock Town, right in front of the basement entrance of the Clock Tower... where Link entered this world from. The fairy girl felt short on breath. "W-What just happened?! Everything has..."  
  
Link turned around and faced the tower. Looking up, his hands flew up to his face in surprise. The moon was... falling all over again? It was the same distance as Link remembered seeing it from the first time. Both him and Tatl finished the sentence in awe.  
  
"... it has started over..."  
  
The Song of Time. Link dropped to his knees in reverence and managed to laugh over a sob. The Goddess of Time... she had protected them. He whispered a grateful thanks to the heavens and Tatl continued to stare around her in bafflement. She glowered at Link like if he was some kind of crossbreed monster. "Wha...what are you, anyway? That song you played... That instrument--" she gasped. "...That instrument!!! Wait, that's it!"  
  
He stood up immediately and stared at his temporary partner. "What? What?!" Link asked in curio.  
  
"Your instrument!! The mask salesman said that if you got back the precious thing that was stolen from you, he would return you to normal!" she grinned at him shortly and looked back at the double doors that led to the tower's basement, where that salesman must be in. "Did you completely forget or what?" she blurted out half-jokingly.  
  
Precious thing? Link's weak smile started to fade when realizing... the Ocarina of Time wasn't the only precious thing that has been taken from him. "...no, it's just...Epona..." He looked down at the blue ocarina in his hands sadly. But Tatl would hear none of it. She pushed him hard -at least as hard as a young fairy can- towards the double doors. Link's hope was suddenly lifted; he knew that if he returned back to normal, his hopes of finding Epona could come true. She couldn't be dead-- Skull Kid didn't seem like someone who would kill at first glance... then again, there was his plot to bring down the moon... appearances really can be deceiving...  
  
Tatl just continued to whine. "C'mon, move it!!"  
  
Link bolted through the doors and scanned the area. It was the same way he had left it, alright. The clock's gears were turning, the murky water was churning and the door that led back to Hyrule was still shut, lock and key. Link sighed sadly and walked to the ramp that led to the very bottom of the tower, where the gully of water was. And out of nowhere, the strange, grinning man with his giant pack appeared before him again. His hands clasped together, he chuckled at the sight of the boy.  
  
"Back so soon! Were you able to recover your precious item from that imp?" the mask salesman asked; his tone full of anticipation.  
  
The small deku boy just nodded in reply. It certainly didn't feel like he was back so soon, but that's just time portals for you. You'd think he had gotten used to it after what he had once gone through back home... "Yes, sir... I've got it right here--" he reached to pull it out of his pocket, but he felt two clammy hands grip his shoulders and shake him excitedly. Link looked up at the creepy salesman's grin that just unnerved him completely  
  
"Oh!!! You got it! You got it!!" he cried out. "Come with me!" Letting go of the boy, he ran -more or less- towards the other side of this level of the tower and Link gasped as something he had never noticed in this building appeared before his eyes. An old-fashioned grand piano, very similar to Ganon's pipe organ... at least... he thought it was. The Happy Mask Salesman sat on a chair in front of the instrument.  
  
"Please, listen to this song I am about to perform and remember it well," he said. Link nodded and pulled out his ocarina once more, which transformed into deku pipes when he held the instrument readily. "It is a melody that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, turning them into masks."  
  
The mask salesman first played three single notes twice in a row. It sounded simple enough and Link played along. The soothing notes he played with these pipes were loud but melodious. Those three notes slowly turned into an ongoing melody. A melody than seemed to take over Link. Finishing the song, he put away his instrument. He blinked in remembrance of that horrible hex the Skull Kid had so rudely bestowed upon him. He remembered the fear and panic it brought him. Nonetheless, it was now all fleeing from his mind as if it never existed.  
  
Another blink, he heard a clatter at his feet. He looked down, but before he could see what had fallen in front of him, he took notice of his hands. They were no longer the stubby hands of a deku child, but they were his own. He looked down at himself and reached his hand behind him and the felt the hilt of his Kokiri Sword. He was back. He was a Hylian again.  
  
The last time Link grinned this wide was months ago when he had succeeded his mission, right before Navi left...  
  
"Oh my gods! I'm back!! I'm totally back to myself!! Alright!" he bounded. He was so happy, he felt like hugging somebody. But alas, there was no one to hug. Tatl was definitely out of the question and the salesman... he just plainly freaked Link out.  
  
The salesman stood up and laughed lightly at the boy's eccentric-ness. "The Song of Healing is what this song is called. I am sure it will be of assistance to you in the future." Bending with his knees to prevent falling flat on his face under his sack, he picked up a wooden mask on the floor. The object Link had heard fall to his feet. "I give you this mask in commemoration of this day. Fear not... the magic has been sealed inside the mask," he said, noticing the hesitant look the boy had. Link held it in his hands and stared at it. The deku face carved on the mask still had its look of sorrow...  
  
Instead of putting it in his item bag, he hung it on his belt. He had a strange feeling he might need it again.  
  
The salesman outstretched a hand to him. "I have fulfilled my promise to you, young boy... so please give back that which you promised me," he said.  
  
Link's grin was gone in a flash. He lowered his head awkwardly and his blue eyes were suddenly quite interested on the cracks of the granite floor. He had forgotten to get the mask back. He had made a promise to get it back from Skullkid. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_ He mentally kicked himself for not recalling it. His head remained low, but he nervously eyed the mask salesman, his expecting grin also fading.  
  
"Don't tell me... my mask..."  
  
Link put his hands behind his back and twiddled them anxiously.  
  
"You did... get it back... Didn't you?"  
  
Finding enough courage to look at the man in the eye, he lifted his head to speak in his own defense. But he was once more gripped by the shoulders and shaken; this time with a force so fierce that it caught the boy hero off guard.  
  
"What have you done to me?!!?" the man exclaimed, suddenly tempted to choke the boy to his death. But realizing he was being irrational towards such a young child, he let him go. Link backed away from him and Tatl resided on his shoulder in shock. "If you leave that mask out there, something terrible will happen!!"  
  
"I don't get it! Why is the mask so dangerous??" Link just had to ask. He watched as the Happy Mask Salesman simmered down a little and sat on a small chair across from the boy and startled fairy. He sighed before looking back up. Link sat down cross-legged on the ground. There was a story coming up-- he could feel it.  
  
"I went to great lengths to get that mask," he began. "When I finally had it in my hands... I could sense the doom of a dark omen brewing from it. It was that unwelcome feeling that makes your hair stand on end... the artifact is called Majora's Mask.  
  
"It is an accursed item from the legend of an ancient tribe that would use this mask in their hexing rituals. It is said an evil and wicked power is bestowed to the one who wears it. According to legend, the troubles caused by Majora's Mask were so great... that the ancient ones sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing its misuse. But now that the tribe from the legends has vanished, no one really knows the true nature of the mask's power."  
  
Link's eyes widened at hearing this tale. He watched warily as the man stood up and put his hands up to his chest like if he was symbolizing true honesty. "...but I feel it."  
  
"But... just you? Not even Skullkid...?" Link trailed off.  
  
"I do not even believe he is aware that just evil has overtaken him. That imp... if such power is bestowed on such a gullible creature..." He put his hand up to his face and shook his head at the dreaded thought. He neared the green-garbed boy again with a pleading look. "I am begging you! You must get that mask back quickly or something horrible will happen! I'm begging you! I'm begging you! You must do it!!"  
  
Link finally had the opportunity to go back to Hyrule... but to walk away from jeopardy is just not his style. Of course, he knew all those citizens were in grave danger and he could not live the rest of his life knowing that he could have done something to help Termina. Glancing up at the mask salesman, he nodded firmly.  
  
The man's grin retuned. "Really? You'll do it for me?" He sighed and looked at the young boy. "I was certain that you would tell me that," he said knowingly as he patted the boy's head. Link seemed a little annoyed, but he let it pass.  
  
"You'll be fine! Surely, you can do it. Believe in your strengths... believe."

* * *

Termina Field.  
  
Very much like Hyrule Field, the green patches of grass stretched far and wide all around. Unlike Hyrule, however, this land was divided by people's races, so it was very rare to see more than two different races together in this world. Emerging from the south gate, Link set foot on this field and kept traveling south, where Tatl advised they should start off. The boy hero smiled as he made his way through the field. After being stuck in a deku boy's body for awhile, it felt good to be able to walk in long strides again. He actually enjoyed very much being around fresh air, away from city streets and back to the nature he had grown very fond of.  
  
After long minutes of walking and walking and walking, Link held up his hand in desist and slumped down under the shade of a tree. Tatl just grew more impatient.  
  
"Come on! We're almost there!! Why rest now?!" Link gave the fairy a look of both bother and pleading. Tatl just shook her head. "Alright... let's at least review then," Tatl said.  
  
"Fine. As long as I don't have to move my legs anymore..." he said with a sigh.  
  
Tatl 'paced' around Link's head and began to think out loud. "That mask... the Skull Kid uses the power of that mask to do those terrible things," she looked towards Clock Town; the top of the Clock Tower could be seen even from the distance. "And whatever it takes, we've gotta do something about it. Now..." she paced some more and looked at Link to make sure he was listening. "When Tael spoke up, he was referring to the four areas of this land..." Link sat up and took the opportunity to ask that question which had been on his mind for awhile.  
  
"But what did he mean when he said 'the four who are there'?" he asked curiously, tilting his head at the yellow-white fairy.  
  
There was thoughtful silence in the air for a second before Tatl shrugged along with her reply. "I dunno. He always skips important stuff. I guess we should just go and find out..."  
  
"Uh-huh... I guess," Link said looking down.  
  
"Well, the swamp's in that direction, so move your lazy butt and let's get going!"  
  
Link rolled in eyes and stood up. He arched his back to stretch his muscles and while he was at it, he looked up at the sun's position. From what he could guess, it was around 9:00 in the morning... so he must have walked across the field for almost a full hour! They had to hurry. Unsheathing his sword, he started to trot down a much darker path. You never knew what was going to jump at you at any given moment, so he held his Kokiri Sword readily.  
  
"Come on, Tatl. Stay close..." he said over his shoulder; however he did not receive a response. He dropped his guard and turned around to see Tatl still hovering around the tree he had taken a minute's rest in. "...Tatl?" he asked, this time uncertain. Her wings seemed sag, even as she flapped them to maintain her position. She was staring at a drawing carved on the side of the tree-- Link did a double take. He hadn't noticed the drawing when he had sat down. Link stood right next to young Tatl, staring along with her.  
  
It was a crude illustration of a skull kid and two fairies at its side. "What is that...?"  
  
Link thought he heard her smile as she said this. "Tael and I drew this with the Skullkid when we first met him..." she paused. "He... he told us that he was fighting with his friends... and that they had left him all alone...I'm sure it was because he was always playing tricks, so nobody wanted to play with him."  
  
Link nodded in understanding.  
  
Tatl shook her head. She recalled when Skullkid had asked her and Tael to do to the Happy Mask Salesman the same they had done with Link. After knocking him out and as the imp searched for the 'goods', he stumbled upon that wretched mask. "But to do what he just did because of that..." she whispered. "...and once he got his power..."  
  
A quite long silence followed after. Link bowed his head slightly and heaved a sigh. "I promise Tatl-- that I will do all I can to get Skullkid back to normal," he said.  
  
But the fairy girl just looked sadder. "It's too late for him... what's important now is the rest of Termina. You've gotta find those four... they probably have the power to stop Skullkid." She grunted uneasily and turned her back on the carved drawing. "Let's... get away from the subject, shall we?"  
  
Then, simultaneously, they both looked at each other and said, "Let's go." Without hesitation, they both ventured into the darkness.  
  
The young hero stayed fully alert as he walked through the tall trees and thick bushes, stopping only to cut the vines that were in his way. He encountered two Deku Babas, which he sliced right through both with ease and a light smirk. Tatl just ogled from the 10-year old boy to the small, rusty blade he held. She was pretty much speechless. Link just laughed; he was used to this kind of disbelief from others.  
  
"You've never seen a ten year old pro in swordplay before?" he said with a chuckle bending down and picking up deku nuts and sticks left on the ground.  
  
"Duh. What do you need those for, anyway?"  
  
"Well, you never know..." he muttered as he stuffed them in his item bag and continued to walk along the path. "You gotta expect what you least expect... if that makes sense. I just-- I don't remember... it's something like that." Link quickened his pace when his hearing picked up the sounds of rushing water. The vines in the way were thicker and conveniently placed parallel before him... like if it was meant to keep people away intentionally. Link slashed through them and at the other side he saw a large, ongoing creek. Odd plants grew everywhere near the water's edge.  
  
Tatl nodded. "This must be it," she said. "This is the swamp. Now what we have to do is find out more about this 'person' Tael talked about... somehow."  
  
Link waded through the strange colored waters, searching for any other sign of life. "He could have at least given us another clue," he said, trying to overpower an incoming yawn. Why did he suddenly feel so drained? He was bursting with energy almost through the entire morning until now. His eyes started to droop. Tatl's chattering started to fade into nothingness. Link was so faint... he tried to take in a deep breath. That just made him even dizzier.  
  
"Yeah, but if you'd really know my brother, you could expect these kinds of situations to happened. Not too long ago, we were with the Skullkid and then Tael--" A splash broke her train of thought and she looked down to where it had come from. Shockingly, Link had tilted right into the water. "Trip so much?" she joked. "Come on, get up."  
  
Link didn't budge.  
  
"Hey, you're wasting time, kid! Now get up! We don't have a lot of time!" Nothing happened. She started to grow nervous. "If this is a joke, it isn't funny!"  
  
The boy's body turned over in the water and revealed his face, his eyes unblinking and air bubbles escaping the corners of his mouth as he sank even further into the water.  
  
"No! Link!" she dived into the water, only to come back up to the surface, sputtering. The swamp was filled with poison water.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	7. Your Duty as a Warrior

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 6: Your Duty as a Warrior**  
  
In a vain attempt to rescue her drowning partner, Tatl dived underwater once more; her delicate eyes tightly shut, but they still stung. It was a senseless maneuver, but the girl was desperate. Link had to be the only person that would be determined and crazy enough to help her get to her little brother. He practically put his life on the line. Tatl emerged from the waters, flailing and coughing violently. There was nothing she could do...  
  
The sudden feeling of isolation was just too much for her to bear. "Help!" she shouted out towards the trail they had just come from. "Someone help me!!" She prayed to the goddesses for a miracle to emerge from that trail. But much to her surprise, the miracle emerged from the trees above... pulling the young hero from their safety of the tree vines and onto land...

* * *

That horrible, acid taste... he hasn't experienced such revolting savor... not even in those disgusting energy-restoring potions he always had to drink. In fact, he actually missed the taste of them. This world really was much different than Hyrule. Link just hoped it wouldn't get any worse or stranger...  
  
He stared to feel the blood flowing through his veins normally. Finally. He wondered how many times since the beginning of his journey has he almost passed out completely. When his vision cleared, he only wished that he would wake up the same way he had when taking horseback-riding lessons in Lon Lon Ranch. Facing his dear fairy Navi and his best friend, Malon... but now, to think such thing is like expecting a rubbish fairytale to unfold. What he faced instead was a lot more unanticipated.  
  
Link cried out in surprise. He was back in dry land-- well, moist land, really... since they were still in the mold-abiding swamp. Sitting up straight, he coughed out excess water still attempting to clog his lungs. What had surprised the young hero? He had stared right into the face of his savior: an innocent forest monkey. Link arched and eyebrow at the creature before finding his ability to speak once more. "Er... thanks..." he muttered. The little ape smiled, motioning behind him at two other monkeys.  
  
"It was nothing, really," he said, triggering another raised eyebrow from Link. "I don't really deserve all the credit-- my brothers helped me carry you to shore. My, you sure were heavy!" he chattered.  
  
Link narrowed his eyes but still managed to smile politely. "Well, thanks again," he paused to cough. Tatl flew over his head, trying to hide her relief. She was glad to see he was okay, but she certainly wasn't going to admit it to an unfamiliar like him...  
  
"Geez, why don't you watch where you're walking through next time, kid?" she scolded lightly. "I mean, even a doofus would have noticed the water changing colors!" Link looked out the swamp's water source and ogled the magenta poison that floated over the surface of the water as the fairy continued. Tatl scoffed. "Well, at least you're okay... so let's get on with the mission..."  
  
Without a word of protest, Link stood up and nodded. He reached his hand over his shoulder to touch the kokiri sword's hilt -making sure it was still there- and started walking along the water's edge, away from the poison. Not even five steps later, he was stopped. The three monkeys that had pulled him out of the water stood in his way, gazing at Link with admiration. "So you're on a mission? Are you a warrior?" one of them asked.  
  
"Umm... well..." he began. Tatl flew as close as she dared to the apes and frowned at them.  
  
"Look, I know you saved my partner and all, but we have much more important things to do than playing around," she said, momentarily shifting her gaze to the moon worriedly.  
  
The monkey that had spoken for his brothers held up his hands in assurance. "Oh, no! There is no time to play! There is too much to explain!" he cried out.  
  
"Explain? What--"  
  
"Please, follow me!" The trio of monkeys dropped on all fours and ran along the path of the swamp. Not having much of a choice, Link ran after them, careful not to slip on the moss that trailed under his boots. Past the trees and over the boulders, they reached a more open area in this swamp. Link stopped to take a break, resting his hands on his knees and taking in deep breaths. He knew the monkeys were right beside him.  
  
"How much... farther...?" he asked between breaths.  
  
Doing an acrobatic jump, the lead monkey landed next to the boy's feet and looked up to him with a knowing look. "We're here..." he said with a grin.  
  
"Here where?" Link didn't even bother to look up. Even though he hasn't waded in the waters again, the air still reeked of venom and made him dizzy.  
  
"You sure ask a lot of questions..." the monkey commented; his two brothers snickered quietly. "Just stay low... I'll explain everything..." Link agreed (too fatigued to refuse) and ducked down between some odd bushes and Tatl flew into his cap to hide as well. The boy practically flopped down to the ground exhausted as the apes continued to stare oddly. They did that a lot.  
  
"So what's going on?" he said after catching his breath. He sat up on his knees and peeked over his hiding place. He gasped inaudibly at the sight of a foreign edifice... a structure so well guarded; it might as well be suited for royalty. Deku Scrub guards stood at its gate. As he continued to study this place, the monkey explained.  
  
He sighed sadly. "Late last night, the princess of the deku scrubs -and our best friend- had disappeared. She was headed to the royal temple of Woodfall when she just vanished... without a trace..." Link turned his head towards the little ape. He was staring down at the ground distressed, but still continued to tell his plight. "We have tried to save her, but we did not know where to begin... and we can't go before the king ourselves... he has gone on a rampant rage! He is sentencing to death every creature that is not a deku, accusing them of being in cahoots with her daughter's disappearance." Link stared wide-eyed. "So, you see our plight..."  
  
Link nodded, but was unsure of this. He didn't have a lot of time to find these four strangers who Link did not have a single clue to how he could find them... yet he didn't have the heart to just leave a king in distress and a princess missing when she was surely in trouble. "But... what do you wish for me to do?" Link asked slowly.  
  
Tatl emerged from the bottom of Link's cap and winced. "You sure do like helping people, don't you?" she said with a roll of the eyes.  
  
"You are a warrior!" The monkey put plainly. "Please head down to Woodfall and find the princess for us! Please! She is our good friend... her family needs her back safely..." he asked pleadingly.  
  
"But the entrance to Woodfall is through the Deku Kingdom!" Tatl pointed out. "How are we going to get across without the guards spotting us?!"  
  
Link smirked a little. "Don't worry, I've done this before. All it takes is some charisma, stealth and if that doesn't work: bribery." Tatl giggled mockingly.  
  
"This isn't Hyrule anymore, kid... you should know better," she said; now it was her turn to smirk.  
  
"Yeah, I know," he said with a shrug, not really caring much for the remark. "No harm in trying, though." The monkeys gave him a signal of good luck and darted up into the sycamore-like trees so they could get a better view. Link walked out of the hiding place and towards the gate as vigilantly as possible. "Okay... so far, so good..." About to walk past the deku guards with a wave, the leafy creatures stood in his way with a stern look.  
  
"This is the Deku Kingdom," one of them said. "This is no place for outsiders like you! Turn away."  
  
Link squinted at them with an incredulous look. After a pause, he blinked and just turned away muttering under his breath. Tatl did not come out, but Link could hear her laughing under his green, flaccid hat. He groaned at that and sat down at a distance from the guards. Sighing, he looked down and his eyes trailed off from his brown boots to the wooden Deku Mask he had forgotten about. He unfastened it from his belt and held it in front on him. "If what the salesman said was true... I should be able to wear this and... change form again...?"  
  
Daringly, the child put the mask back on. That same strange pulse he had felt before... like that of his body changing as he stood-- it came back. It hurt. But the boy bared it. Shaking his head from the dizziness, his vision cleared and looking at himself, he grinned. He was back to his temporal deku body. Unsure if this might be unchanging all over again, Link reached to the back of his head and felt a weird jagged line. It was the rim of the mask! Now all he had to do was remove it and he was back to normal.  
  
He walked past the entrance with ease and without interrogation-- the guards told him to enjoy his stay and Link voiced a thanks to them. Tatl flew out and looked back, seeing they just passed the gate. "Wow, moving..." she said.  
  
Link glanced around as he continued to walk towards Deku Palace. The dekus roamed liberally as a race... they looked so independent and free, unlike the dekus in Hyrule. Back in Link's home, the dekus were though of as pests and adversaries. But here one could walk past a Terminian and they would just wave them off. There was so much peace between tribes... Link envied this sort of connection in this land.  
  
Walking past the main door of the palace, Link found himself in a large area with abundant foliage and beautiful colors. But his greeting inside the royal chambers was far from welcoming.  
  
"WATCH OUT!!" Tatl suddenly screamed. And like a reflex, Link automatically rolled out of the way. He stared back with wide eyes to where he previously stood to find a flaming spear stuck to the ground. The chamber was crawling with utter chaos. Deku scrubs ran in every which way and it was impossible for Link to see who had just attacked him. A scrub ran past him and towards the exit, not even bothering to pause at the sight of such a young child between all the pandemonium.  
  
"The king has gone mad!!" he cried out before vanishing down the hall.  
  
Link shook his head, completely freaked out and turned to Tatl. "What's going on?! Tatl, can you fly higher to see what's happening?!?" he said to her as loud as could over the noise. With a nod, the girl fairy hovered higher until she could see the Deku King's throne. Four guards surrounded his royal Highness as the King paced, holding a spear similar to the one that almost ended Link's life. Tatl flew closer to them until they were at earshot.  
  
"Your Highness! I am begging you! Please calm down!" one of the scrubs said. He very much stood out from the other guards and had a royal essence about him. Tatl figured this was the king's butler. "If we do not hurry and send out our troops to find her, the princess might end up in great peril!"  
  
"Silence!!" the enraged king demanded, throwing the spear in his hands and sending everyone present into frenzy. "Nobody moves until I find out who is responsible for such a crime! It is an insult to the royal family!! ...You!" he pointed at the guards. "Make sure nobody leaves the kingdom! Find your best guards and keep an eye out for anybody... and you!" He turned to his butler. "Anybody that tries to sneak into my palace... report them to me at once." The Deku Butler bowed lowly in reverence and left from his side of the throne. Tatl shrank back, fearing she may have heard more than enough. She flew back to Link, who had been crouching behind a decorative vase to prevent being barreled into somebody else.  
  
"Well?" he asked expectantly, gripping the vase for it to not topple over from the wind of running dekus. "Did you find anything that--?"  
  
"We gotta get outta here, now!!" she growled, pulling on the collar of his tunic. Link gave her a questioning look. "There's no time! We gotta get out of here before the deku butler--"  
  
"Excuse me!! Young man!" a voice called out from behind Link. The boy hero froze, knowing he had just been caught. With a little scared noise, Tatl darted under his hat; her shaking in there wasn't helping Link in any way, either. The voice spoke up again. "You shouldn't be anywhere near these parts!" He felt the cold, hard grip of an angered deku grab him by the wrist. No use in fighting, Link spun around and came face to face with the deku butler. His irked expression dramatically changed when his eyes met the young deku's. His voice suddenly hushed and shaky. "You... you are..." he managed, kneeling down next to the boy.  
  
Link saw sympathy and grief in the butler's eyes. He did not know why this was, but he dared not speak against it. He lowered his head and started to turn away. "I'm sorry, sir... I'll find my way out of the palace..." He took two steps toward the exit and was again stopped by the grip of the butler. This time he did not seem pressured; it was like a kind parent willing to help a young toddler reach his way across the road.  
  
The deku butler sighed, out of the unusual and mournful trance. "Listen, I won't report you to His Highness, but there is no way out of the palace without stumbling onto the guards." He stood up and looked around him cautiously. "Please, follow me closely." Hesitating at first, Link followed the king's butler unnoticed across the room and past the throne. Deku scrubs were rounded up by officials and forced to stand before the Deku King. Guards stood on Link's way, making him lose sight of the butler he was following.  
  
Link jumped back surprised at the stern looks he was given. "Oh, hi," he said meekly. "I-- I'm... I'm just going with--"  
  
"Rest easy; the youngster is with me," said the butler, coming in at the nick of time and scooping the boy up on his arms. Link wriggled a bit, realizing he had never been cradled this way before. He stopped. It was so benevolent of the man... Link almost felt like if he had known this deku all along... like if he... was his father. Link shook his head. What a ridiculous feeling he thought it was.  
  
"Oh, sir!" the lead guard stood straight. "We didn't know you recuperated your son! Please, forgive the intrusion. Move along."  
  
A quick nod and the deku butler dismissed himself, disappearing behind the king's throne and into a secretive cave. Further into the tunnel, Link could see the gentle glow of the early afternoon sun against the rough granite walls and could smell the bitter poison in the air. They were almost outside. Sighing in relief at all the past close calls, Link looked up at the butler half-lidded.  
  
"Hey, I can still walk-- don't worry," he said with a light laugh.  
  
The butler coughed nervously and muttered an apology as he put the young boy down. But Link just let it go with a smile. His curiosity got the better of him soon, though. "So, you have a son then?" he asked.  
  
The other deku did not respond at first, but kept walking ahead of Link, so his expression went unnoticed.  
  
"..._had_ a son, really..." he finally said in a low voice.  
  
Link was caught off guard. "Ohh... I'm so sorry..." He couldn't see the butler's face, but he sensed a hint of grief. The very same grief he had seen in his eyes when he had hesitated at first sight.  
  
"I have to admit; you do have an extreme likeness to my son that it is almost astonishing," he said, still looking down at the path he walked on. Link knew this man had too much pain in his heart to bear talking about his greatest loss... he knew just how he felt, really. But amazingly, the deku butler continued. "My boy... he was too young to defend himself... falling into the hands of a simple forest child..." he clenched his fists, but sadness still lingered in his voice. "It just wasn't impartial."  
  
Even Tatl was captivated in this small, heartbreaking news. She shook her head. Skullkid was surely going way too far... to be responsible for a harmless deku boy's death. But... she did not remember ever being present when that happened. She and her brother were often with Skullkid, but most of the mischief he has done was away from the eyes of both fairies...  
  
"The King was also very fond of my son... and so was his daughter. When my boy went missing, the king assembled his best troops to search the land for that little forest demon. But now that our beloved princess is missing, the king has been unable to keep his cool..." he paused. "He had forgotten everything else and now searches for the culprit. I fear that if we do not look for the princess, she may be caught up in some kind of trouble, just as the monkeys claim..."  
  
Link looked up at him, walking a few fast paces until he was walking by his side. "You know the monkeys?" he asked.  
  
The deku butler smiled weakly. "Of course. They were my son's and the princess' playmates in usual days. They would always fool around in the palace garden. But after the King's decree, they are unable to enter our kingdom."  
  
The boy hero almost did not become aware that they were now outside of the cave and in a place very similar to the swamp. Link remembered the monkeys mentioned something about a temple in Woodfall, but the only unnatural structure he could see was a royal shrine... and past that was another cave. The butler pointed to it.  
  
"That is the exit. You should be able to go through without trouble. Please, just leave as soon as possible." He gently put his hand on the boy's head. "And thank you for listening to my laments. I know it may have been hard for you to handle, but I really appreciate you for just listening to me..." Exchanging a last smile, the deku butler turned away, back into the shadows of the secret entrance of the palace.  
  
Making sure he was not seen, Link took off his deku mask and shape shifted back to the Hylian boy he truly was. He stood there immobile, hundreds of thoughts dashing through his head. For some reason, he remembered that song he had been taught by the Happy Mask Salesman. How it had the power to put an aching soul to rest and encasing it in a mask. Then Link realized something-- Link could not have been what was described as an aching soul. Could it be...? That when the Skullkid had converted him...? Another soul overtook his body...?  
  
"--I said, snap out of it!" Tatl repeated, barreling against the side of the hylian boy's head. Her dragonfly wings flapped exceedingly quick as she hovered backwards. She pointed at the deku shrine. "Look! There's someone up there!" Link put his thoughts to rest and squinted at the shrine. Sure enough, on top of its platform was some sort of being. Link jumped over lily pads and on river rocks, avoiding the venomous water until he reached the tall, wooden structure. And sitting on the base of a ritual altar was a young deku girl. She had beautiful gaudy earrings, a plain but formal dress and a flower adorned her hair. This had to be the deku princess!  
  
Overjoyed, Link stepped up to her. "Princess! You're okay! Your father has been looking all over for--"  
  
"Huh?? Who are you...?" she said, slowly backing away from this stranger. "Did father send you here??"  
  
"Well, not really. But--"  
  
The princess rushed up to him a grabbed his arm. "Oh, please! Don't tell father I'm up here! Don't tell anyone!!" Link arched an eyebrow. She certainly reminded him of a particular princess back in Zora's Domain... "I'm serious! It's a trap!"  
  
"A trap?" Link asked.  
  
Storm clouds slowly began building up around the south sky. But before anyone could even make a comment about it, Link was rudely shoved forward by the blunt end of a spear. The deku princess cried out in surprise and Link stood up to see they had both been found by the Deku King and his royal guards. The deku butler was not far behind, a look of fear and surprise across his face.  
  
The king turned to face him. "Ha! I knew you have been hiding something from me! Lucky I followed you out here with your so-called child!" The butler cringed as the king now turned back to Link, if possibly more enraged than before. "You!! So you are the one who kidnapped my precious daughter!! I sentence you to an immediate death!"  
  
"Framed and busted... ouch," Tatl muttered.  
  
Link stared ahead in shock, not sure about what to do now. Make a run for it?  
  
The deku princess stepped up between them both. "No, father!!" she yelled out harshly. "This boy has done nothing wrong!! Please, you must get out of Woodfall at once! All of you!"  
  
The storm clouds blotched out the golden afternoon until the skies were as dark as a new moon night. The sound of faint, tribal drums filled the atmosphere. Woodfall started to rumble loudly; several guards falling off the shrine and into the waters. Link tried to keep his feet firmly on the ground as well as everyone else. And from the very deepest of forests emerged a giant. Link ogled this monster in astonishment. The giant's face was concealed with a hideous mask that seemed to scorn those at its presence. In its hand was an immense sword and in the other was a shield. He took a menacing step towards the shrine.  
  
It was ready for battle.  
  
And so was Link.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	8. Savior Among the Lowly

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 7: Savior Among the Lowly**  
  
At the sight of the gleaming weapon in Link's hands, the deku princess grew more panicky. Link's face momentarily showed no signs of fear for this creature and his feet began to shuffle-- a move to ready his tense muscles to lunge at the enemy. Yet before he could do anything, the princess grabbed at his tunic and jerked the boy hero backwards. He glanced at her with a confused look.  
  
She shook her head. "Don't be irrational, boy!!" she hissed.  
  
Link lowered his sword and shield and faced her. He had this troubling urge to snap back at her, but he knew better than that. Link has learned the hard way how to properly address someone with authority. "I don't understand," he said. "Are you defending that thing or something?"  
  
The boy was completely oblivious to the Deku King's actions at the moment. The king stood in awe for the masked giant. Down on his knees, he lowered his head in what seemed to be sudden reverence. "Great Odolwa!" he cried out. He looked behind him and seethed at his guards and butler. "Kneel! Kneel, you fools! We are in the presence of this land's creator!!" At once, all dekus bowed lowly except for the princess, who fidgeted nervously.  
  
Hesitantly, Link put his sword back on its sheath... but the ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen still lingered. He stared at the princess and then at the masked giant. The being looked like he was anything but merciful as he stared down at the deku king with a deep look of hatred. His unusual booming voice startled them all.  
  
"You, of the lowly scrubs, have been put under my command to care for this land," he lifted his sword up high and continued to speak to the king with authority, "and to assure the proper worship of the ruler over your position." The deku king went pale. The monster did not sound very satisfied at the mention of this. Link and the deku princess tensed. An outburst was sure to come. "Yet it has been years since you have delivered me the proper sacrifice!  
  
"And so I realized..." he seethed and glanced at the princess briefly. "...that the proper sacrifice..." Link reached for the hilt of his sword and jumped down from the shrine as fast as lightning. "...is YOU!!!"  
  
Odolwa the masked giant raised his machete-like sword over his head, ready to strike down the deku shrine and all of the creatures that resided in it right then. But in the middle of his battle cry, he reared back until he fell backwards into the poison water that surrounded the wooden shrine. Eyes wide with surprise and confusion, the dekus all leaned over the edge of the structure, searching for their fallen lord. And what they saw was Link, standing safely away from the venomous waters on top of a rock in the middle of the brook. His sword was at hand and dripping with a strange substance.  
  
The deku king shook his head away from the temporal trance and glanced down at the boy, flustered but gratefully. "This young boy, he has saved us from our deceitful lord," he stated with awe in his voice. His admiration did not remain for long.  
  
Water splashed everywhere and panicked the scrubs-- Odolwa arose from the swamp waters, weapons tightly clutched and looking angrier than ever. With a loud and irate roar, he brought down his sword on the boy hero; missing Link by inches as the child jumped away and the rock he was previously on broke into pieces. Link landed on a heavyset wad of lily pads, almost slipping and falling into the water. Tatl joined his side, giving him an unsure look. "You got yourself into a real mess this time, kid!!" she said.  
  
"I can take him, Tatl!" he said to the surprise of the little fairy. Link looked at her earnestly. "But I need some help!"  
  
Tatl paused and followed after Link, who had to jump away from Odolwa's range before he was knocked into the water. "What are you saying?" she said when they were at a safe distance to stop briefly. "That I fight with you?? But... b-but I've never done this before!" she whined, getting nervous. Odolwa was walking in the water towards them, having difficulty because of the water that reached up to his knees.  
  
"Please! I know you can do it!" Link said with slight despair as he glanced from the yellow fairy to the infuriated masked giant. "Just get as close as you can tell me what to do! I'm depending on you!!" Odolwa was close enough to Link and caught the boy off guard. Instead of using his sword, he rammed the boy with his shield, flinging him into the air. Tatl watched in horror.  
  
"Oh goddesses!! Link!" she screamed. She cringed as she watched him painfully land on his stomach on top of rough stone that stuck out from the water. The largest pang of guilt she has ever felt hit her right then. He trusted her... while she unkindly trusted him back; but not showing much of a sign of gratitude. It felt horrible. But she shook out of it. _'Now is not the time to pity ourselves'_, she thought. _'He's counting on me...'_ Putting all worries aside for the moment, Tatl flew close to Odolwa and behind him. The giant was oblivious of the little fairy's presence as she worked her magic, flying around the creature. Odolwa was just a swipe of his sword away to get rid of this pretentious little kid who dared to almost end his life.  
  
But Tatl flew downwards below the beast's knees and as her fairy essence brushed against him, Odolwa abruptly flinched, like if a stream of holy toxin entered his veins. Tatl gasped and smirked in triumph. She had found it. "Link!!" she called out to him just as he was standing up. "His shins! Go for his shins!!"  
  
Groggily, Link stood up with determination and jumped to the closest body of land, closer to the masked giant. He exhaled as he readied himself-- and jumped at Odolwa's knees with his sword up high and a battle cry. Then the target just suddenly disappeared and Link fell to the waters. The dekus in the shrine who had all the while been watching gasped in dismay. As the butler clutched his chest, the princess paced behind him, taking notice on a sacred item that stood lonely on the deku shrine. She grabbed it and ran towards the shrine's edge, against her father's orders. She looked around until she could see Link climbing back up to a dry patch of land, parts of his body severely burned from the magenta poison. The swamp water in Woodfall was quite different from the one at the edge of the land.  
  
Link achingly coughed out some more water that highly irritated his throat. It felt like his insides had caught on fire. He fell to his knees, supporting his torso up with his elbow and clutching his throbbing stomach with his free arm. Odolwa had jumped away from Link's attack in the blink of an eye! "Damnit, he's too fast...!" he seethed to himself. Tatl appeared over his shoulder, her wings fluttering anxiously.  
  
"Link, are you okay? Odolwa's getting closer-- you have to defend yourself!" she urged. Indeed, Odolwa was wading closer to the boy hero, that disgusting cocky look still plastered on his mask. "Get up! We have to get away-- you can't fight him!"  
  
He sighed. Link felt almost to the point where he could almost cry. This seemed so impossible when he had nothing but a sword and a few sticks to aid him-- wait a minute! "The Deku Nuts! I forgot I had those!" he beamed weakly and reached into his leather item bag and pulled out the two deku nuts that he had saved when he killed those deku babas. Odolwa jumped into the air once more, landing right in front of Link, his sword ready to strike him down.  
  
"You shall bow down at my authority..." he bellowed. "Even if you are to kneel in pieces! It's time to relieve you from my presence!"  
  
Link growled lowly and raised a hand over his head, clutching both deku nuts tightly. "Relieve THIS!!" He throws the deku nuts at his feet and they explode into a paralyzing liquid that held Odolwa in place. In advantage, Link wildly slashed his sword at the giant's legs, doing severe damage. Odolwa hollered and brought his immense sword down in vain. The weapon clanked against the hard soil. Link leaped away from the range of attack and onto a floating log, close to the deku shrine.  
  
"Young hero!!" the princess cried out, getting Link attention. "Hurry! Finish him off!" In one swift throw, she sent a familiar artifact his way. Link caught it in time and smiled. A bow and a quiver full of arrows. Quickly strapping the quiver behind his back, he pulled out an arrow and set it on the bow. Tatl flew back towards Odolwa.  
  
"Aim for his head!!" she cried.  
  
And so he did. The silent arrow encroached right in between the beast's mask. For a mere second, everything was still. Link trembled as he tried to stand rigid on the floating log. The deku princess clutched her father's arm fearfully. The deku butler realized that all the while he was holding his breath. Then... Odolwa's weapons fell from his grasp and into the waters. And with an ear-splitting shriek of defeat, his rotten remains wilted into the swamp. He was finally gone.  
  
A sigh of relief escaped the young boy's lips and the remaining royal deku guards cheered. Link plopped down on top of the hollow log and it bobbed up and down in the water. He took in a deep breath, quite pleased to inhale some good fresh air. No poison in the air. Along with the cursed creature Odolwa, the swamp's magenta venom that resided in the water disappeared. The brooks were a glorious green and blue once again. Link felt a huge satisfaction, recalling his first onslaught...  
  
Tatl looked fazed out for awhile until her attention was set on the very spot where the giant Odolwa had liquefied away. A wooden object floated carelessly in the water's surface. Tatl's eyes narrowed curiously.  
  
"Link... Come look at this!" she said loudly, but no alarm was in her tone. Link lazily rolled over and splashed into the cool swamp water. He swam right under the spot where Tatl hovered and he bumped into a mask. Holding it up to see, he almost dropped it in surprise when he saw Odolwa's face staring right at him. His face was embedded in the mask. He swam back to the log and sat down, still holding the strange mask as he kept his balance.  
  
"Weird..." he muttered to himself. "I wonder what'll happen if I put it on..."  
  
Tatl coughed and floated near Link's left shoulder. "Um, uhh... I-- I don't know about that..."  
  
Ignoring the negative comment, Link put the mask on, expecting something like he had already seen in this strange land-- a mere transformation into another being. But he didn't feel any different. In fact, he could barely see in that mask. He shrugged. 'Guess it was no big thing,' he thought to himself. But when taking off the mask, he realized he was pretty much wrong.

* * *

_The fluffy, sweet-scented clouds... the bubbly, calm atmosphere... the beautiful pastel colors... I remember this place. This was from the best dream I had in weeks! Am I... dreaming again? I looked down. I still had the mask on my hands-- but this just can't be real. It's weird. "This can't be my dream... I feel too uncomfortable."  
  
"That's because you are soaking wet, silly."  
  
I suddenly look up and there is Tatl. I can see a little smirk right through all her brightness. Now I know this isn't a dream... I definitely wouldn't have someone like Tatl in my fantasies...  
  
I narrowed my eyes at her and went back to look at the scenery. "Where are we..?" I wondered out loud. If this isn't a dream... and I don't remember ever doing anything key to get here... except the mask thing--  
  
"Oh my gosh!" Tatl's gasp interrupted my thoughts. I was about to scowl at her, but she looked really scared all of a sudden. "Look over there!" She definitely had my full attention now. I whirl around in every direction, trying to catch whatever she's looking at before it goes away. "No, kid! Over there!" she pointed to the south. Okay, I see it now... but what is it? At first, it just looked like a tree, but-- wait, those are legs!  
  
That had to be Odolwa. "No! He's back!" I started to charge at him, but then I remembered something. I was on top of a pillar. I peeked down at the edge... the void below looked bottomless. And the monster was too far away. Maybe one of arrows would work. I pulled out my bow, but before I could do anything else, Tat got into my line of vision... again.  
  
"Wait! I don't think it means any harm! Look!" she said. The clouds faded a little and I could see the face of the creature much better. And it wasn't Odolwa after all. His body was really different. He looked real strong but friendly as well. I calmed down a little bit, but it wasn't long until I almost jumped out of my skin. The creature spoke up in a deep long bellow... but I couldn't understand it. It almost sounded like singing.  
  
I looked up at Tatl to see that she looked really thoughtful. Like if she was straining to listen. So I kept quiet. I stared at her all the while until she gazed back. "He says that he thanks you for releasing him from that evil spirit within the mask," she said.  
  
I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You can understand him??" I couldn't help but cry out. But Tatl shushed me and kept on listening to the singing giant. I folded my arms, yet I tried hard to keep my cool under all the annoyance. The giant finally stopped and I looked back at Tatl, but she still had that thoughtful look. "Well?" I asked carefully, trying hard not to sound pushy.  
  
She hesitated a little. "Um... he said, 'if you need our help, call us'."  
  
"'Us'? Who is us? Ask him that!" I turned, but the image of the giant started to fade away into nothingness. I ran as far as I could go on the pillar. "No, wait! I still don't understand!"_

_  
_

* * *

"What don't you understand?" asked the deku princess, tilting her head in curiosity.  
  
Link blinked a couple of times before he realized he was back in the swamp, right in the middle of the deku shrine and surrounded by the royal deku family. He looked down to see Odolwa's mask gone as well. Link stuttered a bit and glanced at Tatl, who looked just as confused as he did. The princess giggled to herself and the boy hero simply shook his head. "Nothing, I just feel a little lightheaded," he mumbled back with a weak smile.  
  
The guards parted as the deku king stepped forward. His almost murderous features when Link had first laid eyes on him were gone. His relieved look eased all of those around him as well. His put a hand on the child's shoulder and nodded knowingly. "You truly are our savior. My darling princess has told me all about it. She was kidnapped by our very our lord and placed at easy reach to you not too long ago. His diabolical plan has backfired at him in return." Link nodded in agreement and wiped off a trickle of sweat running down his neck. He was exhausted.  
  
The princess shyly stepped up and bowed quickly. "Thank you very much for saving me and my father," she said boldly. "We owe you our eternal gratitude." Link grinned and bowed respectfully in return. Tatl jabs him in the shoulder lightly and clears her throat. Link pauses at this for a moment, but then he remembers. "Oh, yeah!" He reached behind him and unfastened the sacred bow and quiver that he had been lent. "Here, these belong to you."  
  
Nonetheless, the deku girl shook her head and waved a hand. "No, on the contrary... this is the Hero's Bow. It is destined to be used by the liberator of the deku race... these were pretty much meant for you."  
  
Link beamed widely. "Thanks!" he said, obviously overjoyed. He ran his index finger at the bow's arch, sketchily admiring the foreign pattern of the bow's bronze surface. He put the newly acquired weapon away and saw the guards retreating. The deku king stepped up to him once again.  
  
"Young hero, if you wish, you may join us for a post celebration feast," he offered kindly.  
  
Link looked at Tatl the same way a hungry child would pleadingly ogle a mother. But the little fairy girl gave him a cold look that got him to awkwardly look down at the scuff marks of his boots. "N-no, thanks," he said. "I'm on a very important mission and I can't stay for long. But thank you so much for your kindness." Accepting the boy's gratefulness, the deku king and his daughter left the shrine and walked down a ramp leading back to the palace. Link did a double take. He hadn't noticed that before... or the whopping stone temple in the middle of the Woodfall waters. "What the-- ?! Where did that come from?!?" he cried out in shock.  
  
"After lord Odolwa's defeat and your momentary ascend to who-knows-where," said a familiar voice from behind. Link turned sharply and saw the Deku Butler had stayed behind. "The temple rose from the swamp when the poison completely cleared up. Truly magnificent sight." Link chuckled lightly. The butler smiled in return and approached the boy. "So... you're the little deku scrub from before, aren't you?" he said softly.  
  
The young hero stuttered a little, about to oppose. But the look on the butler's eyes... he just knew. "How did you know?" Link said in a hushed tone. Now it was the butler's turn to chuckle.  
  
"As you ventured through the palace and confirmed your unique curiosity, I could see my little boy in your place. And so was the same with your triumphant battle," he said. Link grinned and stared down at the ground for a second before looking back up at the kind deku. "What is your name, boy?" he suddenly asked.  
  
"It's Link, sir," he said.  
  
The deku butler took a step back. "Well, I sure hope that someday our paths might cross again. Farewell, Sir Link." Link sighed and turned to go, but the deku stopped him once more. "Wait! Just one moment... would you care to do me a small favor and... show me your alternate form... just one more time...?"  
  
"Of course, sir." Link grabbed the deku mask and put it on. After the transformation, he was back into his deku body, shaking his rotund head from the dizziness. The deku butler simply stood there, hands clasped together and shoulders lightly shaking. His eyes glistened sadly and before he knew it, he was kneeling down, hugging the young scrub tenderly. Link tensed in surprise, but not two seconds later, he felt had the need for this kind of affection. He never knew what it was like to be embraced by a loving father figure, but this... this came quite close. He smiled on the inside.  
  
The deku butler stood back up and left in sudden haste, his expression unseen by the boy. Tatl sighed sadly at the scene. "The poor, poor man..." she shook her head and paused. "Okay, let's get moving. We've got three hours until sundown!" she urged and started going down the deku shrine's ramp, Link following along sheepishly. They passed through a different exit from Woodfall that took them to the same entrance to the swamp in the beginning. The once uncomforting and strange swamp was now blossoming in beauty and a calm ambiance gave whoever would walk through these paths a sense of peace.  
  
Link started walking ahead of his fairy partner and half-listened as she analyzed it all out loud. "So... the four people Tael talked about... do you think he was talking about that spirit that was sealed inside that mask?" she wondered out loud. Link muttered something incoherent, finally realizing something he should have long ago. She took that as a 'pretty sure' and smiled in a satisfactory way. "Wow, we did this all in a pretty decent amount of time! Now, just keep up that pace and save the other three!" Again, Link stayed silent, his shoulders slumped a little. Tatl frowned at this. "Hey, what's the matter?? I mean, what's to be upset about?! You just saved the entire deku race!!"  
  
Link stopped walking and took off the deku mask. He held it in front of him in grief, recalling that little tree before entering the portal to Termina. A long awkward silence followed. "Tatl, the deku butler's son is dead," he said in a voice so hushed that Tatl had to strain to hear it.  
  
"Of course he is," Tatl said, trying not to make it sound rudely obvious. "The deku butler told you, remember?"  
  
"...he wasn't dead until I came here..."  
  
The fairy stared at his back strangely. "What are you talking about?! He clearly said--"  
  
"Tatl, don't you GET IT?!?" he suddenly yelled and turned to the guardian fairy. Tatl gasped to herself inaudibly when seeing tears forming in the child's large, cerulean eyes. "This _thing_ is the deku butler's son!!" he said as he held up the mask to her face. His voice began breaking. "Skullkid didn't kill him! He sowed his soul into my body! And because I played that stupid Song of Healing, his soul isn't intact anymore!" He furiously wiped away the tears from his eyes, refusing to cry over a matter he could never solve. "That's why I felt so close to the butler... when I wore that mask, I felt like... he was my father."  
  
Tatl watched the miserable kid sit on the moist ground, putting his head between his knees. "But this isn't your fault, Link," she said.  
  
"Then why the hell do I feel so _guilty_?!?!" he cried.  
  
She sighed and flew down close to the boy. Link didn't look up, though he felt the warm glow of the little fairy over his shoulder. She sat and looked down sadly. "This is something you couldn't have avoided... not ever if you were to travel back in time again," she said lowly. "I know... that the tree we saw before we entered Termina was the remains of the little deku." Link lifted his head slightly and Tatl continued. "But the Song of Healing was meant to heal a person's sorrows away. In a way... you have saved the boy as well..."  
  
Link wasn't rabidly upset anymore, but he still felt uneasy. It was written all over his face. Tatl finally saw this was a good a time as any to get her anguish out of her chest. "Hey! Um... all that stuff I did to you... a- and your horse... I... I apologize. I'm sorry."  
  
The boy looked at the fairy sitting on his shoulder and smiled a small, but grateful smile. "Thanks, Tatl," he whispered. That's exactly what he wanted to hear since they have met.  
  
"Sure, yeah; just don't hold it against me, got it?" she muttered. Link shook his head with a little chuckle and stood up to stretch his arms. Without another word, he resumed his stroll out of the swamp and back to Termina field. Tatl smiled a little and looked down at her hylian partner. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better... your horse is somewhere out in Termina Field. We just let him run loose since she wouldn't play with Skullkid after she broke from his trance."  
  
Link grinned. "That's good to know," he said. Looking up at the blue skies, he noticed the afternoon sun starting to descend. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time!" Fastening the deku mask to his belt, he sighed. These three days in Termina he had to accept that there are some things he just could not change.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**  
  
_**A/N:** Sorry about the delay, guys. I'll try to get the next chapter up before the end of the week. _


	9. Of Fillies and Outer World Beings

**The Mask of Majora - Chapter 8: Of Fillies and Outer World Beings**

* * *

A good deal of time inching their way through the thick foliage of the abundant swamp, Link and Tatl made it back to Termina Field. The skies were gradually turning into a soft afternoon pink and regardless of the menacingly close moon, it was still a beautiful sight. Link smiled, took a deep breath of fresh air and looked up to his fairy partner. Tatl had remained silent throughout most of the way; tidbit feelings of guilt still bugged her from before.  
  
Link wasn't aware that she was deep in thought and cleared his throat to get her attention. "So... where to next?" he asked giddily, shifting his stance from his toes to his heels.  
  
The girl fairy seemed to stare right through him as she tried to stay focused on the young boy's question. When snapping out of it, she looked around her. The south entrance of Clock Town was not that far and they were pretty close the swamp still. "Umm, well... according to Tael... our next stop should be the mountains. That's far up north." Link stood on his toes and shaded his eyes from the sun as he looked over the walls of Clock Town and at the tiptop of the snowy mountains.  
  
"That's more than a six-hour walk!!" Link said incredulously, looking back at Tatl.  
  
Tatl shrugged. "Not if you jog," she said cockily, which resulted in receiving a dirty look from the boy hero.  
  
Link dug his foot into the dirt and thought hard. He exhaled through his clenched teeth. "If only Epona was here..." he murmured sadly. "We'd be there way less than half the time." He dug deep in his item bag and pulled out the Ocarina of Time. He sighed the deepest of sighs as he thought of his dear companion. And thinking of Epona, his thought shifted to Malon. He had promised her that no matter what... Epona will be safe with him. Knowing his poor baby mare is out there in this strange, new world all alone unnerved him.  
  
He brought the royal instrument up to his lips and closed his eyes in concentration. And he softly played her song; Epona's Song. As he increased the tempo, the song was heard louder and farther. At the last note, he opened his eyes in high hopes of seeing Epona merrily galloping towards him. But he saw nothing.  
  
He put the ocarina back in his bag. He had to give in. He began to walk north towards the mountains when Tatl gasped. "Wait! Do you hear that?!" she said.  
  
Link stopped and turned to her. "Hear what?" he asked.  
  
"Shh! Just listen..."  
  
Link stood rigid and listened for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but the sound of tweeting from the mother birds calling out to their young and the chirping of crickets that awaited the night. Link was about to question Tatl again... and then he heard it. It was the distant, but clear neighing of a young horse. It came from the southwest. Link took a step in that direction. "Epona...?"  
  
Without warning, he broke into a sprint in that direction. Tatl went after him. "Hey! Wait for me! Hold on!" she voiced, hoping it'll get the kid to slow down. Link picked up speed as he reached a much clear part of the field. The grass would turn scarce and short until it formed a dirt pathway. Link stopped when he saw the path led to a large gate. The sign on top of the gate read 'Romani's Ranch'. He glanced at the ranch from where he stood, thinking he would make a fool out of himself if he had gone after a horse that wasn't his. But this ranch was sparse on horses. There were several cows grazing here and there, but nothing else. Not even a gaggle of cuccos.  
  
Seeing as he was already here, Link walked into the separate piece of land and explored it. He guessed it was at least three times bigger than Lon Lon Ranch back in Hyrule... but this ranch strangely had much less livestock. Tatl followed the child with utter annoyance. If his horse wasn't really here, this would be a terribly huge waste of time. From her view farther above, she spotted a small, rundown barn and a house near the edge of the ranch. Beside the house was the source of the sound. There was a young filly with a reddish-brown pelt and a flowing white mane.  
  
"Hey, look!" she said to Link and pointed to the side of the strange house. "Isn't that your horse?"  
  
Link squinted in that direction and immediately recognized his companion. "Epona!" he cried out happily and she ran towards her. Tatl was at many times surprised as to how this kid could keep such a steely resolve with the deep desire for justice, but still be able to act like a child. It mystified her to no end. Link reached his beloved horse, who instantly acknowledged the boy and neighed happily at his presence. She was in a very small stall with a iron bar fence. "No wonder you didn't come when you heard my song!" he said with pity. "You don't have enough space to jump out of here!" He slipped his arm in between the thick metal bars and patted her snout. "I missed you..." he uttered with a sad smile.  
  
Epona shook her head and snorted, trying to get closer to the young boy. She seemed very glad to see him. "Don't worry, girl. I'll get you out!" he said. Link took a few steps back, looking for a way to open the gate. But it was closed with lock and key. There was no way he could get her out with force. Link was suddenly anxious. Now that he knew where Epona was, he was not going to leave her behind-- whether she was in good hands or not. He ran back towards the barn and spotted a young girl running around. "Excuse me," he said as he neared her. "Can you help me with something?"  
  
"Huh?" the girl -who had his back towards him- turned around. And for the first time since his first familiar encounter when he began exploring Clock Town, he staggered back in complete shock. The girl before him had the same work dress and boots, the same red hair, the same stance and the same innocent grin as his dear, childhood friend...  
  
"--Malon...?" he blurted out without the means to. But he just couldn't hold back his shock. The resemblance was too uncanny. The red-headed ranch girl looked at him oddly. In her hands she held a bow and a single arrow. After looking the boy up and down, she smiled widely.  
  
"Well, I dunno who you're talking about, but my name's not 'Malon'," she said, causing Link to look down at the ground, embarrassed. "It's a pretty name, though," she added with a giggle. "I'm Romani. I was given the same name as the ranch," she said, a bit of pride showed on her face.  
  
Link smiled respectfully, but still feeling uneasy on the inside. "Nice to meet you... my name is Link."  
  
Romani creased her eyebrows slightly "Link?" she repeated and looked down thoughtfully. "That's a nice name, but... how about if Romani calls you Grasshopper?" she said ecstatically, looking up at the confused boy. "See, you're wearing a green tunic and hat, and you patter about when you walk..."  
  
Link gave Tatl a sideways glance. "I do?" he whispered. Tatl just shrugged.  
  
"So Grasshopper it is!" she said decidedly.  
  
Link figured it was best if he didn't oppose to it. He was about to ask about Epona when he noticed the bow and arrow the girl had in her hands. Curiosity got the better of him once more. "What are those for?" he asked, pointing at the weapon.  
  
The ranch girl brought the bow up to her chest and sighed, her smile slowly forming into a frown. "Romani was practicing... for tonight..." She paused as she looked up to the sky with a worried glance. "Tonight... they are coming..."  
  
Link followed her line of vision to the sky. "Who's they?" he asked.  
  
"The ghosts..." she whispered. Romani met the hero's eyes. Without words, she knew he wanted some sort of explanation. "They come at night... every year when the carnival approaches..." she began. "They come riding in this big, shining ball." She gestured with her hands as she spoke. "A whole lot of them come down. And then... they come to the barn and... and they steal."  
  
"...the animals?"  
  
Romani nodded sadly. Link looked around; there seemed to be nobody except them two around. "Doesn't anyone want to help you?" His shoulders slumped when seeing her shake her head miserably.  
  
"My older sister won't believe me," she said. Romani lifted her head and her eyes sparkled with willpower. "But Romani must protect the cows!" she said willingly, lifting her bow and arrow over her head. "Even if I have to do it alone..." she turned away and walked to the side of the barn, where she had drawn a strange looking creature in the wall as a target. "Now I must back to practicing..." she muttered, lifting her bow and shooting the arrow at the target over and over at different angles.  
  
Link looked up at Tatl with a sad and compassionate expression. All at once, Tatl opposed to it. "Ohh, no you don't!" she scolded. "We have more important things to do than this! Now just ask her to open the gate so you can have your horse and get on with the mission."  
  
For a moment, Link considered it, but an idea slipped into his mind at the last second. He approached the Malon look-alike and smiled. "Hey, Romani... you know, I could help you." At that, Romani turned to him with a hopeful look. "I mean, if you think you really do need help..."  
  
She clasped her hands together joyfully. "Oh could you, Grasshopper?" she asked. He nodded yes and Romani bounded up and down with a grin. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around him in a grateful hug, causing the boy hero to flush a deep shade of red. She pulled back, still ecstatic. "Such a nice deed can't be taken lightly!" she insisted. "Me and my sister'll give you anything you'd like-- if I can afford it, that is," she added with a laugh. Link laughed along nervously.  
  
"Well," he turned to the stall where Epona was held. "That's Epona, my horse. I don't know how you found her, but I need her back. Do you think if I help you, you could set her free?" he asked.  
  
Romani frowned and looked at the filly behind the metal gate. "Well, that's not for me to say," she said. "You might have to ask my sister; she's the owner of Romani's Ranch. She was delivering some milk to Clock Town the other day and she found that horse. Sister brought it home so we could take care of it and raise it." She smiled. "But I'm sure she'll be okay with it. If it's really yours, she'll let you have it."  
  
Before Link could say anything else, a young woman's voice came from one of the second story windows of the house. "Romani! It's sundown! Time to eat!" it said.  
  
"YES, sister!" Romani called back. She started to walk to her house but then turned right back to Link. "Say, here's an idea, Grasshopper! How about you join us for dinner? I'm sure sister won't mind-- we don't have guests very much when the carnival is near," she suggested. "So how about it?"  
  
"Sure!" Link said without a second thought. Not only was he starving, but it was the perfect opportunity to ask the ranch owner to let Epona out of that cramped stall. He followed Romani into the house, anticipating a good dinner and another sleepless night ahead of him. But not before looking back at his companion with a warm smile. Things were looking up one step at a time...  
  
**((Link's Point of View))**  
  
Romani's house was a lot like Malon's, except it doesn't smell like cucco. That smell used to get me sick to the stomach and I always insisted Malon that we play outside instead. Man, I still can't believe how Romani is so much like her... I mean, not only does she look the same, but she acts the same way, too. And she even gave me a nickname and everything... although Malon stopped calling me fairy boy after I started spending more time in her ranch.  
  
There was a round dining table in the middle of the first room. Romani pulled a chair out and waved at me. "Here, have a seat!" she said. I sat down awkwardly-- I'm not really comfortable of 'making myself at home', especially in new places. But Romani didn't look like someone who would criticize. She sat down in her own chair next to me and folded her arms across her lap with a smile. I heard footsteps coming down from the stairway.  
  
"Hey there, Romani... oh my! We have a guest!" that female voice said again. The woman sat down across from Romani and again I just couldn't believe my eyes! The ranch owner was exactly like Malon when I met her when I was an adult! I managed not to show my shock as I did the first time and I smiled at her. Romani explained that she had invited me to dinner and her big sister didn't seem to mind. She turned back to me. "Did you come from town?" she asked.  
  
"Not really. I mean, I did stop by the town, but I travel a lot," I said quietly, not sure if it was something she minded. But she smiled widely.  
  
"Well, welcome to Romani Ranch, Chateau Romani's Village," she said politely. She stood up again to grab a large pot from the stove and place it in the middle of the table. "I am the ranch owner, Cremia. And I believe you've already met my sister, Romani!"  
  
"Yep!" Romani piped. She leaned over the table towards her. "Ain't he cute, sis?" she said, directing the comment to her.  
  
Did she really think I wasn't going to hear that or something? She was right beside me, for Din's sake! I felt my cheeks go warm when she said that-- and when I heard Tatl holding back the laughter under my cap, I slammed my palm at the top of my head. She quieted down for awhile. Cremia frowned at her little sister. "Hey now, Romani! That's rude to our guest!" she scolded.  
  
Romani sighed. "Yes, sister..." she said in exasperation. Though I don't think she meant to take back what she said... which was kind of funny.  
  
Cremia sighed and shook her head, trying to release all the embarrassment Romani had given her. "How about we just settle down and eat?" she changed the subject for my sake. Well, that sounded great. I've been working an appetite for awhile, which is really strange. Cremia saw me grin excitedly and she smiled herself as she stirred a ladle into the broth. "Tell me, young traveler... what is your name?"  
  
"I named him Grasshopper, sister," Romani interrupted. "I thought it was a good name because--"  
  
"Okay Romani," Cremia said, really starting to look peeved. "First off, our visitor is not a pet. You don't 'name' him..." I looked back and forth from Romani to Cremia. This was getting a little more awkward than I thought. "Secondly, it's not nice to interrupt when he was just about to speak. Do you understand?"  
  
Romani nodded and sat back on her chair quietly. I figured she was a little too discouraged to talk, so I spoke up in both our defense. "Actually, I don't mind... I usually have trouble talking to new people-- especially grownups," I felt Romani's eyes look up at me once again even though I was talking to Cremia. "And my real name is Link."

* * *

I think the rest of the dinner turned out okay. There's just something about ranch food that makes you want to forget anything else you were doing and just eat. We barely talked through the rest of the meal... until we began to clear our dishes; I brought up the subject of Epona. At first Cremia wasn't sure, but after she led her out of that stall, she looked pretty surprised when Epona galloped towards me immediately. She gave me the permission to take her back. I was so happy!!  
  
Epona nuzzled at me-- I could tell she was pretty happy, too. But Romani's smile didn't look like one of those joyful ones. It was already late at night and she was about to get ready for bed. "So I guess that now that you have your horse back... you won't want to help me after all, will you?" she said sadly. I looked at her weirdly. Why would she say something like that? Sure, I'm running short on time, but I still made a promise.  
  
"Of course not!" I said with a laugh. "I'll be here when they come, I promised."  
  
She smiled widely again. It was time for her to go to sleep, so she ran back to her house. But not before looking back and whispering to me. "Thank you! I'll be back soon! Don't be late!"

* * *

I had this huge temptation to go to sleep for a few minutes, but I couldn't. I wouldn't. I had to stay awake for Romani and the cows. I lay down in a grassy spot near the barn, where I could hear the mooing of the cows that were inside. Tatl paced over my head as I laid here, my hands behind my head. Her bright fairy light helped me stay awake, too. But her constant talking could have made me fall asleep.  
  
"This is ridiculous..." she muttered. "I mean, if we would have left when they gave you your horse back, we could have been in the Snowhead Mountains by now!" I yawned but Tatl paid not attention to it. "Need I remind you that we now have less than three days to find the rest of those giants?"  
  
"And need I remind you that saving Clock Town from the falling moon has nothing to do with those ghosts Romani talked about taking the cows?" I answered back. I didn't mean to sound cocky or anything, but that's just how it came out. Tatl scoffed at me, but I knew that she knew I was right. And I smiled because of that. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, waiting for Romani to come.  
  
Tatl hid inside my hat again. The fairy dust against my forehead kind of tickled, so I jerked up in surprise. I heard a noise from the second story window and I ran to the house and saw Romani trying to climb down. She was taking a little long because she didn't want to make a lot of noise. At one point I thought she was gonna fall, but she held onto the shingled roof and let herself drop. Romani landed on her feet and I sighed in relief. I've never seen a girl do that before. She reached for her bow and quiver. She now had more arrows.  
  
"It's almost time, Grasshopper," she whispered. "Come with me." She ran to the front of the barn and loaded and arrow in her bow. I did the same with my hero's bow. "Now, they'll aim for that barn and approach it slowly, so hit them with arrows so they can't get in!" she said. I nodded and she nodded back.  
  
"Hey, where're you going?" I couldn't help asking when she ran off behind the barn. When I saw her again, she was on the barn's rooftop. She waved down to me.  
  
"I'll stay up here... you take care of things down there, Grasshopper! Whatever happens, do not let them get into the barn!" she said. Epona knew what was going on and she wanted to help. She galloped towards me and snorted, urging me to hop on. When I did, I looked back one more time at Romani.  
  
"Be careful, Romani," I said.  
  
"You be careful too, Grasshopper..."  
  
I kicked at Epona's left side and she began to gallop. Wow, I missed this so much... riding Epona once again made me feel so happy. I felt really complete-- like if a part of me was missing all along. Epona and I made a few small laps around the barn before I heard Romani shout. "Look! They're here! They're back!" she cried, her voice was trembling.  
  
Up in the night sky, I saw a very big star. It started glowing brighter and getting bigger and bigger... until I realized it wasn't a star at all. It wasn't getting bigger, but closer. Epona stopped galloping all of a sudden when she saw the shining ball and she neighed loudly, rearing back. I almost fell off again. And before I thought it couldn't get any weirder, these creatures just appeared out of nowhere. And the shining circle just disappeared as fast as it came.  
  
The whole ranch was swarming with those ghosts. Coming out of my senses, I commanded Epona to get closer to one of them. The ghosts were so weird- looking... they looked nothing like poes. They had these sharp claws that were outstretched as if they were ready to grab something...  
  
"Tatl, can you tell me what these are?" I cried out to the fairy under my cap. She emerged and flew up to the ghost. But she came back as fast she had gone and shook her head.  
  
"There's something strange about it, Link," she said. "There's this weird aura that doesn't allow me to get close to them!"  
  
"The ghosts!!" Romani screamed when she saw two ghosts slowly making their way through the barn, like if they made no haste or worry. Romani shot one of them pointblank with one of her arrows and I shot the other before it got too close. Romani sighed. "Thank you, Grasshopper," she told me. "Keep at it! They may not die off, but they will when the first light of day comes!"  
  
"Hyah!" I guided Epona all the way to the other end of the ranch where the alien ghosts had landed. I braced myself as I pulled out my bow and arrows and began to shoot at them while Epona galloped around them. It was unusually hard to do for she didn't have a saddle I could cling myself onto. The ghosts disappeared into haze when shot, but more kept reappearing! It was endless! Romani and I kept at it for hours... our bodies starting to refuse staying awake. We didn't have that many close calls until morning started growing closer.  
  
I've never done this before-- being up this late at night, fighting hordes of enemies until sunrise. As an adult, I always found at least an hour or two at night when I could rest. I could tell that it was not going to happen anytime sooner in this mission.  
  
Minutes before the first light of day, the monsters began to move faster. They had this weird, newfound strength and one of them had reappeared over me, forcefully picking me up by the shoulders. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't. My bow and arrows fell to the ground and just being near the alien ghost hurt me as well. Its power was making me weary and I felt my insides getting colder-- life was being sucked out of me. Until all of a sudden I fall down to the ground in a heap. That was the last thing I remembered after I hit my head against a stone.  
  
**((End of Link's Point of View))**  
  
Romani had panicked when seeing the ghost lift the boy hero from his horse and into the air. She could tell he couldn't fight against it. With a fantastically steady hand, Romani aimed at the creature and released an arrow that pierced not only through that creature, but through another one behind it as well. Link fell from its grasp and lay uncomfortably on the ground with Epona by his side. She desperately started shooting the alien ghosts that went after Link and those still wanting to approach the barn. She needed to keep her friend safe.  
  
And before all hope could have been lost, the sunlight peaked from over the valleys. The ghosts were terribly vulnerable to the morning light and shriveled up under its warmth. At once, their remains formed into the shining sphere, which flew off, away from the ranch. Without a second to lose, Romani jumped down from the rooftop and ran as fast as she could to aid the green-garbed boy.  
  
"Grasshopper... wake up, please," Romani said as she kneeled down beside the fallen hero. She patted his forehead lightly to get him to awaken. She sighed anxiously and sat back on the grass, suddenly afraid he may not get up. "Link, wake up..."  
  
"Hey, you said my name," Link muttered as he got up carefully. Romani gasped excited and stood up herself with a smile. Link looked around carefully. It was early morning and the sun had barely appeared from over the horizon. The whole ranch was empty. No ghosts littered the grass field anymore. The boy, assuming the worse, stopped to listen... and then smiled in relief when hearing the mooing of the cows back in the barn. They were okay. "We did it..." he whispered in content and Romani nodded.  
  
"We won..." she said. A short moment of silence ensued before Romani laughed in delight and jumped into the boy's arms once again to hug him. Link hugged her back, also laughing at the incredibly close call of Romani closing her sister's ranch. Romani pulled back and curtsied quickly before bounding up and down happily. "Oh, thank you!! Thanks to you, the cows are giving thanks, too!" she said.  
  
Link stammered at first, trying to find the right words to say. "Hey, I'm... I'm just glad I could help," he finally said with a smile. Tatl snickered again.  
  
The ranch girl looked up at the heavens, ready to yell out a 'good riddance' to those cursed aliens. She instead flinched at the sight of the moon, which looked a whole lot closer to the earth than it seemed like before. "Hey... I wonder if it'll fall... that thing..." she wondered out loud. Link looked at the direction she was and blinked. He still had a mission to complete! Epona galloped near the boy and Link mounted on his horse. He felt a tug on his boot and looked to the side to see Romani with a sad smile full of hope and entwined fingers. "I take it you must go back to your traveling?"  
  
Not knowing what else to say, Link smiled a sad smile as well. "Yeah, but... maybe I'll stop by to visit someday. This is a really cool place. Bye, Romani. It was really nice meeting your and your sister."  
  
Romani watched as Link and Epona rode off to the ranch's exit. "See you later, little hero," she said quietly, only for herself to hear. The ranch girl turned back to her home where she would sleep in what time her sister would let her until she had to do her chores.  
  
Although sleep was crucially needed, Link felt so alive and satisfied. It did his heart good to help people in need. His happy thoughts turned upside down at the thought of those who needed just as much help as Romani and Cremia did... like Anju. At the rate this was going, he wouldn't be able to find out what she was so upset about at all. But the main concerns remained on Tatl's brother, Tael. There were things he just couldn't procrastinate any longer.  
  
"Let's keep north, girl!" Link said to Epona. They were halfway to the mountains as the six 'o clock bell rang from busy Clock Town.  
  
It was the second day.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
